Well Worth Taking
by Reese M
Summary: Jane and Maura Rizzoli-Isles have been married for a year. What does life have in store for them and the people in their lives now? This is a continuation of the story Taking A Risk. Rizzles of course.
1. Chapter 1

A's Note: I don't own Rizzoli and Isles I just play with them for fun. This is a squeal to the story Taking A Risk, it could stand alone, but why break up the pair?

* * *

A lot can happen in a year. Murder cases were solved, countless Sunday dinners had, and some pretty big changes were made. In the past year Angela took over the café full time from Stanly who finally had a breakdown that Jane insisted had nothing to do with her constant picking on him over his OCD. Angela was also seeing Vince Korsak a lot more which Jane was struggling with. She liked that her Ma was happy, that having her own personal life kept her out of Jane's, but it was still very strange and a little uncomfortable for Jane to see her mother with someone other than her father, even if her father was still being an ass. Her father was still living in Florida with his bimbo. She felt bad because the new baby hadn't worked out for them, there'd been a miscarriage, but Jane's empathy was dulled when Frank showed up out of the blue to ask Angela for an annulment so he could marry his girlfriend in the church. When Angela refused to dishonor her children in the eyes of the church her Pop actually used her marriage to Maura, saying that Angela had already dishonored her by allowing her to make a mockery of marriage and encouraging her sinful life style. Angela's response was to tell Frank he had no right to judge Jane and Maura while he was screwing his beach blanket bimbo.

It was almost as good as seeing Angela tell a monsignor in Rome, "With all do respect your grace. Keep your option to yourself. My girls love and respect each other, they make each other happy, and that's all that matters to me."

The incident with her Pop had cut Jane pretty deep but having her wife there, having Maura listen as she ranted, and hug her when she needed it wither she wanted it or not, and hearing the beautiful blonde say she loved her, helped Jane get through those awful few weeks.

After they'd returned from their honeymoon in Italy they settled into Maura's house, which was now their home. Jane had pretty much been living with Maura long before they were married, and she'd always felt welcome, but now she felt like it was truly their home. She gave her old apartment to Tommy and moved all of her stuff into Maura's. That was an interesting few weeks, trying to merge their styles and their belongings, but they managed with very little blood shed. And that wasn't just a figure of speech. Tommy had cut his hand up after dropping the tank her little tortoise Maura had given her years go, was in when he'd been surprised by her and Maura arguing over the life sized goats over the back door. Watson was fine, Tommy needed six stitches and for a week Maura was worse than their Ma when it came to babying him because she felt so guilty over him getting hurt.

Being married had made them closer; both of them feeling more secure, each of them finally feeling at peace with their lives. Being married made them stronger together and apart. After all the nasty shit they saw of the human world in their work, going home to each other and their own little world made all the difference in keeping them both sane and hopeful. It was hard to give in to the crap life throws at you when you go to bed and wake up next to the person you love with all your heart and soul. It also helped when you had someone secure to fight with, someone you knew would still be there after all the bad is said and done, and the sting of the words have faded. There was one fight in particular, their first real married couple fight, where things got really heated. Things were said about pizza parlors and reality television shows and Jane spent several nights on the couch. They made up of course and Maura became even more of a Rizzoli when she told Angela to butt out when Angela told them they needed to apologize. Then of course there'd been the make up sex, and oh how good that had been. It left Jane wanting to pick fights more often it was so good.

In the past year her brothers had made some headway in their lives as well. Frankie was working with them more in homicide, gaining the experience he needed to make detective. Tommy had just finished his first full year of a two-year program to become a credentialed veterinary technician and had met a really sweet girl who was attending the nursing program at his school.

As far as Maura's side of the family went, Constance and Edward were bigger parts of their daughter's life and Maura couldn't be happier in her relationship with them. Patrick Doyle was completely off the grid. The general consensus was that he was in Ireland living the good retired life. Maura's biological mother Hope Todd maintained contact with Maura; they shared emails, sent cards to each other, but as acquaintances not as anything that could be considered family-like.

Everything had been going well for Jane, Maura and their family and both women felt as if the year had just flown by. Maura was smiling softly as she made her way out of her office. Today was their first wedding anniversary and she couldn't wait to give Jane her gifts, but first they had to sit through dinner with the family. Angela was making dinner for them at Maura's, all their favorites, so there would be lots of leftovers for her and Jane during the week. When she reached her new gray Prius Maura was more then a little surprised to find her wife waiting for her.

"Jane." Maura said as she stepped closer to the tall brunette, a warm smile gracing her lips as she said, "I thought we were meeting at home."

"We're not going home." Jane said with a smirk as she pushed herself off the car.

Maura titled her head to the side in that to adorable way she had as Jane took her things and put them in the trunk of the car. "We're not?"

"Nope." Jane said with a shake of her head that sent her curls bouncing. "It's our first anniversary, Maura. I love Ma and the boys I do, but I don't want to spend my first wedding anniversary with them and Tommy's girlfriend. I want to sit across the table from you and look into your eyes, not look across the table at Frankie as he pouts because he's still single."

"So if we're not going home where are we going?" Maura asked with a smile that said she liked where this was going.

Jane just smirked as she said, "Get in the car Maura."

Maura did as her wife said and got into the passenger seat of the Prius and fastened her seatbelt. Jane drove them about two and half hours west of Boston to a little B&B in Lenox. Maura raised a questioning brow when Jane pulled a suitcase from the trunk of the car but didn't say anything out loud. When they walked up to the front desk and checked in under Rizzoli-Isles and the young woman smiled at Jane before saying, "Everything is ready, Detective." Maura could no longer bite her tongue. "What are you up to Jane?"

Jane shrugged and said, "Nothing." She smiled at her wife, taking her hand, and led her back outside, down the front porch steps and onto a path that led behind the larger house. Nestled in back was a small cottage style guesthouse that Jane used the key given her at the front desk to open. She smiled as she looked around and smiled even more when she heard Maura gasp.

"Oh Jane it's lovely!" Maura said as she took it all in. There was a subtle elegance to the place that fit perfectly with Maura's style and tastes. She would have no problem feeling comfortable here.

"You should get changed." Jane said as she carried the suitcase into the bedroom and tossed it onto the luggage stand to open. She tossed a pair of Maura's designer jeans and a pretty blue designer top on the bed before pulling out a pair of Maura's boots.

Maura was impressed. "Jane, did you pick that out on your own? That's a really cute outfit."

The fact that Maura sounded like she was talking to a child who'd just matched her socks made Jane roll her eyes. "Get dressed Maura."

After they were both changed Jane took Maura's hand again and led her along another path. They walked in comfortable silence, Maura almost cuddled into Jane's side as they walked, until they reached the end of the path. Laid out before them were a set of stables and several horse paddocks. The noise Maura made at the sight before them caused Jane to look over at her wife with a worried expressed. She'd never heard Maura make that noise before. "Are you ok?"

"Horses Jane!" Maura said excitedly as she started dragging Jane towards a stable. "I love horses! I haven't ridden is so long! Are we going riding Jane?"

Jane couldn't help but laugh at her wife's giddiness. "Yeap, we are."

Maura stopped suddenly so she could turn and look at Jane. "You hate horses, Jane."

"You hate football but you sat through three games last season." Jane said with a shrug. "Two of them in the snow and cold wet rain."

"Because you enjoy American football." Maura said sweetly.

Jane rolled her eyes. Her European raised wife refused to simply call it football; it was American football, while soccer was proper football. God that woman could be so damn cute at times it gave Jane a toothache. "Well, you enjoy horseback riding so." Jane gave another shrug and then pulled Maura close to her side as they finished walking to the stables where two horses were waiting.

Since Jane had no experience they gave her a nice calm mare with a standard western saddle and a little instruction while Maura put an English saddle on a beautiful gray gelding that she took to instantly. Once Jane was comfortable on her horse she and Maura set out on one of the trails. "This isn't so bad." Jane said, though her voice betrayed how uneasy she still was.

Maura on the other hand was relaxed and enjoying herself beyond words. "I use to spend my weekends riding." She said softly. "My boarding school was close to a riding school and we had complete access since a lot of us boarded horses there. I had a beautiful black Friesian named Snow."

Jane raised an eyebrow at that. "You had a black horse named Snow?"

Maura giggled. "Snow White's hair was describe as being the blackest of blacks, and that's what Snow's coat and mane were, seriously black. Of course that was a later adaption. In the original Grimm manuscripts Snow was fair haired since she was meant to be German and based off a German noble with blonde hair." There was a heartbeat of a pause before Maura continued as if the Grimm brothers hadn't sidetracked her. "This was one of the few athletic endeavors I actually enjoyed back then. I even continued with it when I went off to college."

"You liked tennis." Jane said. Maura was completive though she would never admit it. When the two played tennis together Maura was always more aggressive than Jane was.

"Yes." Maura agreed. "But there are other people involved in tennis. Equestrianism is a solitary sport. I wasn't very social as a pre-adolescent. I didn't really get into the whole team aspect until I was in college."

Jane didn't want to harbor on the anti-social part of Maura's past because it broke her heart to think of little Maura alone with no friends to hang out with so she asked, "Where you any good?"

Maura's smile was radiant. "I have several ribbons and trophies from my competitions. They're in the attic I can show them to you some time."

"I'd like that." Jane said with a loving smile. "We should put them out with my field hockey and softball trophies."

By the time they returned to their little cottage Jane knew more about equestrianism and horseback riding then she'd ever need to know, but the light in Maura's hazel eyes made it worth the long explanation of why their saddles were so different. Actually listening when Maura was rambling paid off because she'd been on a ramble when she'd mentioned how much she missed horseback riding, which led to Jane's brilliant flash of inspiration for Maura's anniversary present, or at least part of it. When they came out of the bedroom after taking showers and changing clothes they found a beautiful table for two waiting for them on the back patio complete with flowers, candles, and wine. Jane looked pleased with herself. Maura looked shell-shocked. Jane certainly had her fair share of sweet moments, but to be this all out romantic was a rare treat indeed.

After dinner Jane gave Maura a charm for the bracelet she'd gotten on their wedding day. When Maura gave Jane her gift she was almost more excited then she had been about seeing the horses. She went into a detailed explanation of celebrating anniversaries and how each passing year has a gift, with the first being that of paper. "So," Maura said with a smirk. "I thought those would be fitting since they are printed on paper."

Jane's eyes were bugging out. "Tickets to the MLB All-Star game!"

"I thought you might enjoy that event." Maura said smugly. "Even if it is in New York. Though it is at the Mets stadium and not the Yankees so that may be more comforting to you."

"Maura!" Jane said in a way that made Maura giggle.

"I had another gift for you." Maura said a short time later while they sat in front of a fire drinking wine and sharing the small anniversary part of their wedding cake, which Jane had remembered to bring.

"Yeah?" Jane asked with an excited look.

Maura nodded. "But unless you found it in the back of the closest under the pile of scrubs I hid it under you'll have to wait until we get home."

"What is it?" Jane asked. There was something, a twinkle in Maura's eye that made her ask. Something that said Maura wanted her to ask.

Maura leaned closer and whispered in Jane's ear, "Do you remember that pretty little lace up bustier we saw in Victoria's Secret?" The audible gulp let Maura know Jane remembered. "That, in a very pretty shade of green."

Jane swallowed hard against a soft moan. "To match your eyes."

"Mmmhmm." Maura hummed as she placed a kiss on Jane's neck right at the pulse point.

The warm vibration against that sensitive spot on her neck shorted out Jane's ability to think. Thankfully there was still some primal part of Jane's brain that knew what to do next. Lifting her hands she gently raised Maura's face to her own so she could kiss her. A slow, deep, feeling it in your very soul kiss that made the blonde moan and melt into Jane as if she were unable to do anything but return the kiss. When the kiss finally broke Jane stood, took Maura's hand, and led her into the bedroom.

Several hours later after both women were to tired and sated to do much more then lay in each other's arms, Jane felt Maura take her hand, the one at the end of the arm Jane had over Maura, holding Maura's body close to her own, and raise it to her lips. It was something Maura did every night before falling asleep and it had taken Jane some time to get use to it. Maura pressed a gentle and loving kiss to the scar on Jane's hand and then tucked that hand close to her heart. Every night wither she knew she was doing it or not, Maura renewed her vow to Jane, I accept you for who you are, every flaw and imperfection included. It was the simplest thing in the world but it meant everything to Jane.

The next morning they had brunch since they'd missed breakfast and then went for another ride. Jane agreed that horseback riding wasn't so bad which of course Maura took as a sign to find them a place closer to Boston so they could continue the hobby. Jane grumbled a little but she knew that now that she'd refreshed Maura's love of riding she couldn't expect the blonde to give it up again, plus Maura needed a diversion that didn't include weird ass yoga people or her Ma.

It was late evening when they finally pulled into their driveway. As Jane got their things from the car Maura unlatched the courtyard gate and held it open. The soft yellow glow of lights on in the guesthouse made her gasp. "Oh Jane! We missed dinner last night. Your mother…"

"Knew I was taking you out of town." Jane reassured with a soft chuckle. "The only one who didn't know was you."

Maura couldn't help but smile sweetly at her wife. "It really was a wonderful surprise Jane."

"Well dissevered too." Jane said with a smirk. "You managed to survive a full year married to me."

The blonde wrapped herself around her wife and kissed her softly before saying, "The first of many, many, full years."

Jane nodded her agreement before returning Maura's kiss with one of her own. When they broke apart the taller woman whispered, "Isn't there another gift waiting for me in this house?"

Maura giggled softly as she stepped back from Jane. She took Jane's hands in her own and then began to pull her back towards their bedroom. They were just about to make it when the backdoor opened and loud yipping filled the house before Angela called out, "Girls is that you?" Followed by. "If it's not I have a frying pan and I'm not afraid to use it!"

Jane groaned as Jo Friday danced around their feet. "Tell me again why we let her live so damn close?"

"Jane." Maura scolded, paused, and then said. "Maybe we should buy her a condo." A heartbeat of a pause to see if Angela was still in the house, she was. "On the other side of town."

"You're sounding more and more like a Rizzoli every day, Maur." Jane laughed before taking her wife's hand and leading her back out into the living room where Angela was standing at the ready to defend home and hearth with her good egg skillet. "Ma, want are you going to do? Make the burglar fried eggs and bacon and wait for him to have a heart attack?"

"I knew it was you girls." Angela huffed and then added. "I just wasn't sure is all."

Jane rolled her eyes.

"So how was your little get away?" Angela asked with a bright smile.

"It was wonderful." Maura said as she took out her phone to show Angela pictures. "Jane took me riding."

And off they went, her mother and her wife, clucking like hens over pictures of Jane on a horse leaving the tall dark haired woman to drown images of sexy lingerie in bottles of micro-brew and left over tortellini. As Jane stood there eating out of the Tupperware, dropping pieces of beef to Jo, she couldn't help but smile. It had been a full and happy year, and she couldn't wait to see what going to happen next.


	2. Chapter 2

The call from operations had come in so early that both Jane and Maura were still in bed sleeping. Maura was on her back sleeping peacefully with Jane curled into her side, her left arm draped over Maura's stomach. Jane's phone started ringing first, two seconds later it was Maura's. In their sleepy hazes they reached for what was making noise closest to them and mumbled into the devices groggy, "Rizzoli." and "Isles" at the same time. A moment later they were exchanging phones and repeating themselves. Ten minutes after they hung up Jane was dressed and ready, pouring coffee into travel mugs while Maura finished getting dressed. Twenty minutes after they'd gotten the calls they were out the door and on their way to a new crime scene. It was cold as hell, the temp hovering just a touch above thirty-five, and there was fresh snow in the air. Maura shivered a little as she stepped out of the chair.

"I told you not to wear a skirt." Jane grumbled as she pulled her coat a little more snuggly around her lanky frame.

"Ninety percent of the time I always wear skirts or dresses to work, Jane." Maura said as if the notion of wearing pants to work was just silly.

"Well this should have been part of the ten percent." Jane grumbled.

Maura gave her a look. "You were impatient several nights ago and soiled the last clean pair of work appropriate slacks I had. There's a rather large stain on the thigh I really hope my dry cleaner doesn't ask about."

Jane blushed and shushed Maura quickly. Then she smirked as another thought passed through her not quiet awake yet brain. She wasn't going to say it out loud but Jane liked that Maura almost always wore skirts and dresses. It made being naughty in the work place that much easier and more enjoyable. "Yeah, well, you're the one with the freezing legs."

"It was just a sudden chill." Maura argued. "I'm fine now. I rather enjoy the cold and you know I love the snow."

As they walked up to the steps of the old orthodox church Jane's hand went out automatically to press against the small of Maura's back as the shorter woman walked up the snow and ice slicked steps in her heels. She was about to say something when Maura cut her off, "Not a word about my shoes, Jane." Jane just smirked. Maura knew her to well. When they reached the top they saw the body huddled in the corner near the closed doors. "What do we got?"

"Young woman, apparent gun shot, and a blood trail that comes up the steps and into the church." Korsak answered.

Maura knelt by the body of the young woman and after a provisional examination said, "Early twenties, gun shot wound, obvious blood loss." She had another look at the body, stood to walk over to the blood trail, followed it down, then up again with her eyes, and then went inside. The three detectives followed her in. "My primarily field assessment is that she bleed out. From the looks of the trail she walked here from someplace else."

Jane shook her head. "Shot and then struggled to come here? Why here?"

"Wanted to die in a church?" Frost offered. "Or maybe she came here looking for help thinking a church was safe and had to have someone who could help her?"

While Jane, Frost and Vince speculated Maura turned to go back to the body but stopped. She'd heard something. It was faint, muffled, and at first she wasn't even sure she heard anything. She walked into the Nave, the main part of the church and then paused to listen. Was that a cat? Slowly she made her way to the front, her head titled slightly as she strained to listen. No, no that wasn't a cat. Although she wasn't religious herself she understood things about several different religions and held great respect for all of them, so normally she would never cross into the Sanctuary of an orthodox church because it was reserved for clergy and the like but the sound was coming from just behind the iconostasis.

"Maura." Jane said, suddenly stopping her conversation with her partners. She watched the blonde walk off and then quickly followed her. "What are you doing?"

Maura was crouching down when Jane came up behind her. When the blonde turned she had a baby in her arms. A baby, no older then a couple of months, wrapped in blankets, and hidden behind the holy screen. Jane's big brown eyes went wide as she looked over the tiny bundle. The baby was covered in blood but what was most startling to everyone in the room was the bloody fingerprint on its forehead.

"Why isn't it crying?" Frost asked.

Maura did a quick check and then answered, "She's cold, lethargic, and she needs an ambulance quickly." She held the baby as close as she could while asking Jane to retrieve things from her medical bag. Maura wanted to keep the baby safe, to help treat her medically, as well as collect as much evidence as they could before the paramedics got there and contaminated it. She was extra careful about preserving the bloody thumbprint.

"The print's small." Jane mused as she handed swabs to Maura. "Most likely a woman's. Maybe our vic's."

"Or a man with effeminate hands." Maura said softly so as not to startle the baby. "Kind of like Detective Frost's."

"Hey now." Frost protested as he hid his hands behind his back while Korsak snickered.

Maura looked up at him and explained, "I only meant that they're more slender then say Sergeant Korsak's."

"Which are clearly more ham fisted." Jane teased.

Maura did everything she could to warm the baby up and as she did so the baby became a little more alert and started to cry, which Maura encouraged. When the paramedics arrived she gave them her medically detailed assessment while they began on scene treatment. Because the baby was more or less evidence someone had to stay with her so Maura volunteered. Jane said she'd send Frankie over so Maura could return to the morgue and get started on the autopsy as soon as she could. Other then being cold there was nothing else wrong with the baby and once she was safe and warm in a crib with heat lamps she was much more alert and active. Maura stood over the crib looking down at the baby who had a death drip on her finger, smiling softly. Something about babies always soften Maura, bringing out a side of her she hardly knew she had.

With the exception of another case that involved a baby Maura hadn't really put a lot of thought into motherhood. Like her own mother she didn't think she'd be very good at it, but the more time she spent as a kangaroo volunteer, the more time she spent around babies and children in general, the more she wondered if perhaps she'd been wrong about herself. Maybe she could be a mother. Plus, now she had Jane, and she knew Jane would be a wonderful mother.

"Uhoh." Frankie said as he stepped into the room. "You got that look."

Maura looked up at her uniformed brother-in-law and titled her head ever so slightly as she asked, "What look?"

"That look Ma gets when she starts daydreamin' about grandkids." Frankie teased. "Are you and Janie thinkin' bout…"

"No, no Jane and I haven't even brought up the topic." Maura answered with a shake of her head. Then she looked down at the little baby girl who was looking up at her with bright eyes. "I was just wondering about this little one. Just a few months old and she's already witnessed the worse human's have to offer."

After leaving Frankie with their youngest witness ever, Maura headed back to headquarters. After changing into her black scrubs she walked into her autopsy room where the young woman's body was prepared and waiting for her. She began by taking fingerprints and blood, hair, and tissue samples knowing that her techs had already taken photographs. Then she collected scrapings while going over every inch of the body with a critical eye and sensitive touch. It was methodical work but Maura knew that the smallest of things could turn into case breaking leads. It was Maura's eye for detail, her desire to uncover the smallest clue, that had boosted the department's success rate when it came to cases like this, and that rise in success had lead to more funding. Her older, male, colleagues might have moaned and groaned about her but they couldn't argue that she was damn good at what she did and that trickled down to them when it came to having money and equipment.

Picking up her scalpel Maura moved her overhead light and then began making the Y incision that would open the young woman up, exposing her to Maura in a way that went far beyond intimate. After retrieving the bullet from the young woman's body Maura texted Jane to let her know she had it before going back to work. This was one of those cases where Maura wasn't going to stop until she'd exhausted all the help she could be to her detectives, and even then she would linger in the background offering what she could.

Because she'd been out canvassing the area and talking to a potential witness Jane didn't get to Maura's domain until a couple of hours later. When she walked in Maura was just finishing up a few things, the young woman's body still open on the table. "You got something for me?"

"Bullet." Maura said as she nodded towards what she recovered.

Jane nodded as she picked up the little plastic jar and shook the bullet from a 9mm inside. When she looked up at her wife there was something about the look on Maura's face that let Jane know there was something happening that Maura didn't quite get or was puzzled about. "What's up, Doc?"

Maura rolled her eyes at Jane and gave her head a little shake. "Have you been able to find out much on her?"

"Not yet." Jane said. "It happened so early in the morning no one saw anything. Got a few people who might have hurt something though. Why?"

"Because you're going to need to figure out who that baby is as well." Maura said as she looked into dark eyes. "This woman's never been pregnant, and she's a lot younger then she looks."

"Great." Jane said with a groan. "How much younger?"

"Mid to late teens at least. I've asked for blood samples from the baby." Maura said. "I'll run DNA on both of course."

"Sibling, sitter, kidnap." Jane ranted.

"Jane." Maura said crossly. "You're guessing. This is a no guessing zone."

Jane chuckled. "Ok, ok, I'll save all my guessing for upstairs. Have you taken a break since coming back?" When her wife shook her head she said, "Come on, we'll grab coffee and lunch up in the café."

"I'll meet you upstairs in a hour." Maura said. "I want to close her up first."

Jane nodded. She hoped that if she ever needed these kinds of medical services whoever it was doing it was as respectful as Maura was. "Alright."

When a child was involved in any way, be it as the victim, or a witness, or even a perp, it was hard to get the case off their minds. As Jane and Maura sat at the little round table that had become their table in the café, they were both lost in thought. Jane was going over what she knew, Maura going over the medical facts, neither saying a word to the other or anyone else. They didn't really need to. Just being close, being in each other's presence, was all they needed. It was comforting to them, and it helped them to focus and relax. Even before they were a couple they had that effect on each other, the absolute reality of what yin and yang was, two complete opposites balancing each other out in perfect harmony.

They were both half way through Angela's chicken pot pie when Jane got a text from Korsak saying there was a hit on the print taken from the baby's forehead. Leaving their half eaten lunches on the table Jane and Maura made their way upstairs to Brick where Frost was sitting behind his computer and Korsak was standing off to the side with a cup of coffee. "So who is she?"

"Lala Malik." Frost answered. "Sixteen. She's from New York."

"Why are her prints on file?" Jane asked as they looked at a picture of their victim.

"NYPD arrest from a year ago." Frost answered as he pulled up the NYPD report. "You're never going to believe this one. She and her eighteen year old husband, she was fifteen at the time, were picked up for vagrancy and causing a public disturbance in a park, where they were squatting."

"Oh what the hell!" Jane groaned as she made her 'this is fucked up' face.

"Malik." Maura said, looking thoughtful for a moment. "That's a very old Eastern European name found in the area of the Czech Republic." She paused a moment to think and then looked at Jane. "She could be Romani. That would explain the adolescent marriage."

"Gypsies, great." Jane groaned.

Maura gave her wife a very disapproving glare. "Jane, they really don't like that term."

Before Maura could jump into a lecture Jane said, "Lets see what we can find on her family and her husband."

Dealing with a group of people known to be socially isolated didn't make the case any easier. Everyone was looking at long hours with this one. After checking in with her office Maura decided to head over to the hospital to check in on the baby. When she returned to headquarters she'd arrived just in time to join Jane for dinner at the Dirty Robber. Jane tried to get Maura to go home, she couldn't do more until she got her test results back, but Maura refused. As they climbed the steps of headquarters they stopped, and Jane groaned, at a familiar voice.

"Hey Vanilla." Rondo called out as he trotted up the steps towards them. "Doctor Honey lookin' good."

"What do you Rondo?" Jane asked, putting herself between her CI and her wife without thinking. It wasn't that Rondo was dangerous, annoying yes, but not a threat. It was just Jane's natural instinct to protect Maura, just like when she threw her arm out to stop Maura from walking across the street until she checked traffic, or when she had to slam on the breaks even though she knew Maura had her seat belt on.

"I got some information you might find appealing, Vanilla." Rondo purred as he eyed both women as if they were fine pieces of art. "Somethin' about a dead girl and a baby."

Rondo's information came with a witness and only cost Jane eighty bucks, worth it if anything panned out. The witness, a working girl on her way home after a night of steady business, saw a man shoot a girl after struggling to take a baby away from her. The good samaritan hooker managed to distract the guy, from a distance of course, but it gave the young woman with the baby time to run off; to a church, to hide the baby, before dying of blood loss.

Over the next few days if Maura wasn't at work with Jane or at home she was at the hospital. Jane couldn't help but think about the baby Maura had delivered at the spa and the emotions that little boy had triggered in her wife. She'd never seen Maura so fierce as she had been while trying to protect that baby from its crazy ass biological mother. She wondered if their current case and baby Jane Doe weren't bringing up some of those same emotions and desires. Maura hadn't said anything but Jane could tell something was her mind, so late one night while they laid in bed Jane asked, "Maur, how much are car seats running these days?"

Maura was tired, she was snuggled into her bed beside her wife, she was comfortable and dozing off. It was kind of a dirty trick. "The Britax Advocate CS is three hundred and seventy dollars but doesn't have a very high smart rating. The First Years True Fit Premier has a better rating and is only two hundred and thirty dollars."

Jane sat up and stared down at her wife. "Maura, are you thinking about babies again?"

Pretty hazel eyes snapped open as Maura shook her head. "No. Not really. Not really more then just a passing thought."

There was a long pause as Jane and Maura just looked at each other. Finally Jane said, "We should talk about it. But not now."

Maura nodded. "We should. At some point, yes, but not right now."

Monday morning a Cambridge couple reported their baby and nanny missing. They'd been out of town until then and as soon as they got home and found the house empty they'd called the police. DNA proved that baby Jane Doe was their daughter Magdala. Jane wasn't sure which she felt more sorry for, the baby's name being Magdala or her having parents who went so long without noticing something was wrong. As the case progressed they learned that Lala hadn't wanted to marry, it had been arraigned and in her community she hadn't had a choice. Her husband had been abusive, and there were even rumors of material rape. Lala, who'd changed her name after fleeing to Boston, had run away from her husband and his family. Apparently his father had encouraged the young stupid husband to forcibly make his young bride submit to him and his wishes, which including having a baby. The husband and his father found Lala, mistook the baby for hers and tried to force her and the baby to go back with them. When she refused, when she tried to tell them the baby wasn't hers, the husband shot her with the intention of taking the baby.

It was one really messed up case and Jane was more then happy when it was solved and done and in the hands of the D.A. It had left both her and Maura physically and emotional drained so neither were in a hurry to pick up where they'd left off that night in bed when Jane asked about the car seat, though it lingered in the back of both of their minds.

"Drinks at the Robber or at home?" Jane asked as she and Maura left police headquarters long after dark.

"At home." Maura said. "In the bath."

Jane smirked. "Sounds like a damn good idea to me."


	3. Chapter 3

Sunday family dinners had taken on a few extra people. It hadn't been uncommon for Vince Korsak or even Barry Frost to join them for dinner from time to time, but these days Korsak was at almost every family dinner they had. The only times he wasn't there was when he was working, which meant those were also the times when Jane, maybe Maura or even Frankie weren't there either. Angela hated those times. She resented the fact that the job took half her family from her at random times, important times, like Sundays and holidays, but she never said anything. Their jobs were apart of what made them who they were and she wouldn't change any of them even if she could. Jane was grateful to her Ma for being so amazing even if she didn't always express that. It was hard on Angela, and Jane understood this. Both of her children were cops, her daughter-in-law might as well have been a cop, and her boyfriend was a cop too. Jane closed her eyes tight and held her breath for a second so she couldn't visibly shudder at the thought. She loved Korsak, they had been to hell and back together, but thinking of him as her mother's boyfriend was just weird.

Maura knew what her wife was doing and it made her smirk. Jane might find the thought Angela and Vince unpleasant but Maura thought it was very sweet. She adored them both and was thrilled that they'd found happiness. Finding it with each other had simply been icing on the cake, as Jane would say. There was a laugh from the kitchen that easily drew Maura's attention away from the college basketball game playing on the large plasma screen hanging on the wall. Vince was doing the cooking today, making beer can chicken, while Angela played sous chef. Angela was grilling some vegetables on Maura's indoor grill, turning some asparagus stalks, when Vince playful smacked her rear end, electing another laugh from the Rizzoli matron.

"Oh vomit." Jane groaned beside her wife. She'd witnessed the scene as well and while it had made Maura smile, it made Jane pretend to gag.

"Jane." Maura scolded. "You can hardly hold that action against him when I happen to know you enjoy doing the same to me."

"Different." Jane grumbled as she sank into the sofa until her chin touched her chest, her head barely visible over the back, her arms crossed over her stomach, and her knees bent as she pushed against the coffee table.

Maura titled her head in that way that meant she didn't understand. "Why is it different?"

"You're her totally hot wife and he's the old man feeling up her mother." Frankie explained.

"Oh." Maura said as she took that in and thought it over. "But you like Vince. You two have been close for years, longer then you've known me."

"Doesn't mean I like seeing him paw at my Ma." Jane sulked.

This wasn't just about seeing Angela with someone who wasn't her father, though that was a big part of it, there was also the concern that if this blew up in their faces Jane would once again be caught in the middle. It wouldn't be as bad as her parents divorce and she would always take her mother's side, but she and Vince were close, they were partners who'd seen each other at their worse, and their lives depended on each other. There was a lot at steak here and Maura knew that her wife preferred things at home to be nice and easy since they never got that at work. Maura knew there really wasn't anything she could say, Jane had to deal with this on her own, but she did force her wife to unlock her arms and laced their fingers together. Jane turned to look at her and just gave her a soft smile.

"Alright kids go wash up dinners ready." Angela called from the kitchen.

Jane groaned and rolled her eyes but pushed herself up off the couch before holding out a hand to help Maura up. Maura smiled sweetly at her wife and then went over to Angela. "Do you need any help, Angela?"

"No sweetheart we got this you just get washed up." Angela said with a loving smile and a sweet kiss to Maura's cheek. "Besides, you made dessert. You did your part today."

Angela sat at the head of Maura's large dinning room table with Vince at the other end. Jane sat next to Maura while Tommy and Frankie sat across from them as always, but there was a new addition to the family dinner table lately; Bridget Nolan, Tommy's girlfriend. Bridget was a nursing student at the college Tommy was attending. They'd met in the library when Bridget over heard Tommy swearing at his computer, making her laugh and Tommy blush. They became friends after that, having lunch together almost everyday for nearly a whole semester before Tommy finally got up the nerve to ask her out. They knew things were leaning towards the serious side when Tommy asked if he could bring Bridget to dinner to meet everyone. You didn't subject people to Rizzoli family dinners unless you really really liked them.

"I still can't get over how amazing that show was last night." Bridge said softly as they chatted around the table. "Adele was simply breathtaking. Her voice is just so soulful. Thank you again for asking us to join you."

Maura smiled brightly at the younger woman. "You're welcome Bridget. And yes, she was simply sublime."

While Maura and Bridget were talking about the concert Jane, Maura, Tommy and Bridget had gone to the night before Frankie tried hard not to look like a lost puppy. He failed at it because his sister noticed. "Oh stop pouting, Frankie. You don't even like Adele."

"I'm not pouting." Frankie said as he sat up straighter in his chair.

"I did ask if you'd like to join us, Frankie." Maura pointed out. "I sent you the same text I sent Tommy before I ordered the tickets."

"Alright geesh I said I wasn't pouting." Frankie griped.

"He's just sour cause he's the only Rizzoli without a girl." Tommy teased.

"All right you three," Angela said, including Maura in the 'you three'. "Leave your brother alone. He'll find someone nice when he's meant to. Lord knows there's no rushing a Rizzoli. I mean look how long it took Janie to open her eyes."

"Ma." Jane protested.

"What?" Angela asked. "It's true."

Jane just rolled her eyes as she stuffed chicken and rice into her mouth. After dinner was finished Maura brought out the coconut cake she'd made for dessert, while Jane got the bottle of wine Maura had chilled to go with it. There was talking, teasing, and laughing around the dinner table and such a look of contentment on Maura's face that Jane couldn't help but lean close and place a kiss on her wife's cheek.

Five o'clock in the morning came to soon when your wife is feeling frisky after dragging you to an art gallery opening. Five o'clock in the morning at the tail end of winter was also cold as hell. Jane was bundled up in fleece pajama pants, sweatshirt, and a coat as she and Jo Friday crept out the back door for Jo's walk. As she passed the guesthouse Jane noticed the lights were on which meant her Ma was up, most likely getting ready to head out to work. As she passed the living room window she just happened to turn her head to look inside, thinking maybe if her Ma was up and ready she'd like to join her and Jo on their walk. What Jane saw through the window would leave a scar on her psyche for the rest of her life. There in all its pale glory was Korsak's ass! That wasn't the worse of it. The truly nightmarish sight was Korsak and her mother having sex on the huge couch ottoman.

Maura jumped when Jane came bursting back into the house. "What's wrong Jane?"

Jane thrust poor little Jo into Maura's arms and said, "You. Her. Walk. Argh!"

Wife and dog watched as Jane mumbled, grumbled, and swore her way back to the bedroom and then heard the very familiar sound of Jane screaming into a pillow before turning to look at each other. "Well," Maura said to the dog. "That was odd."

When she got back from walking Jo Friday Maura found Jane in the kitchen softly banging her head on the kitchen island. "Would you like an explanation about why you shouldn't be doing that or would you rather just tell me what happened?"

There was a muffled thunk of Jane's head on a solid surface and then a muffled, "I am never going into the guesthouse again." Another soft thunk. "Ever."

"Why?" Maura asked as she stopped her wife from thumping her head again by grabbing a hand full of hair.

Angry brown eyes glared at Maura before softening. "They were…" Jane shuddered. "Oh vomit."

Maura raised a brow, thought about Jane's use of that phrase, and then said, "Oh." She bit her lip as she let go of Jane's hair so she could rub her back comfortingly. "You probably don't want to hear that your mother's still a healthy woman of a decent age and therefore still a sexual person, do you?"

"Maura." Jane said tightly. "If you ever want to be a sexual person again don't talk about my Ma being a…" Jane shivered with the thought. "Oh vomit."

When everyone finally made it into work that morning Jane was shooting daggers at Korsak and he had no idea why. After making two cups of coffee, one just the way Jane liked it, he walked over to her. "Jane."

"Uhm!" Jane grunted as she held up her hand for him to stop.

"Jane?" Korsak looked confused.

"Uhm! No!" Jane growled.

Korsak blinked. "What's up with you?"

"Uhm! No!" Jane repeated, her voice low. "Do not talk to me. Do not look at me. In fact, I'm going, out there." She pointed to the windows meaning she was leaving. "To sit in a car and wait for a murder. You stay here. Just. Uhm!"

Korsak looked completely dumbfounded as Jane left the bullpen still muttering. After Jane avoided him all day and only grunted at him when they did interact, glaring and almost pointing at him like the evil monkey from that pop-culture Sunday night cartoon, he went down to the morgue to ask Maura if she knew what he'd done to set off his partner. Maura didn't betray her wife's confidence but she did mention that Jo Friday likes to go for her morning walk really early, like around five. It took Vince about twenty minutes to figure it out and when he did he popped himself in the forehead which caused several odd looks since it seem to come out of nowhere.

That evening Jane and Maura were sitting at the Dirty Robber having drinks before heading home. Maura saw Korsak come in and the look on her face made Jane turn to see who she was looking at. Jane grumbled and was about to get up, "Come on lets go home."

"No Jane." Maura said as Korsak came towards their table. "Give him a chance to speak."

Jane was about to say something curt and snippy when Korsak walked up and said, "Jane, look, I know me dating your Ma hasn't been easy for you to handle, and I know you got good reasons to be on the fence about it. She's your mother and it's strange to think of her as being with anyone but your father, and it's weird to think of her as a normal human being who dates and, well, other stuff. And I know you know enough about my track record to worry about that too. But look, Jane, the long and short of it is that your Ma and me, we really care about each other. She's a wonderful woman and I'm lucky to have her. I'm gonna do my damnedest not to hurt her, Jane. I care about her too much to ever hurt her. And I promise from now on we'll be more aware of trying to keep things more private."

Jane didn't reply but she did turn her angry glare from Korsak to her wife and then back to Korsak. "Is that all?"

Korsak nodded. "Yeah, that's it."

Jane looked at Maura and said, "Can we go now?"

Maura sighed. "Yes, Jane. We can go now." Grabbing her purse Maura slipped out of the booth and then paused to put a reassuring hand on Vince's shoulder before following her sulking wife out the door. Maura kept silent the whole drive home but once they were safely inside she said, "You know Jane. Payback's a bitch."

"Excuse me what?" Jane snapped as she turned to glare at her wife.

"Do you remember our first really big fight after we became a couple?" Maura asked, undeterred by Jane's laser vision.

Jane nodded, "Yes I remember our first big fight. You put yourself in a dangerous situation. You had no place being…"

Maura didn't want to rehash that part of things so she asked, "Do you remember what happened after we were finished fighting?"

The taller woman stopped mid rant and smirked. Maura had literally jumped Jane, wrapping her arms around Jane's neck, and her legs around Jane's waist. Jane had carried her over to the kitchen island and set her down, moving so her own body was between Maura's legs as they kissed. Then the clothes came off right there in the kitchen, all of Maura's and most of Jane's. Maura was still sitting on the island. And then, with her hand between her lover's legs and her mouth attached to Maura's breast, the blonde's head thrown back in bliss, Angela walked in.

"Oh blessed mother!" Angela exclaimed as she turned her back quickly. "I make your Nonna's gnocchi on that surface!"

"Come on Ma!" Jane yelled, moving so she blocked Maura's naked body with her out. "Get out!"

Angela nodded and made her way to the door. She left and then came back, only opening the door not coming inside, and said, "I'm glad you girls made up." Short pause. "Don't forget to use bleach on that island!"

The three women avoided each other for a week after that and there were still times when Maura was helping Angela in the kitchen when she'd suddenly blush. Now there was no blush just a look that said, I love you Jane but you need to grow up. When the tension didn't break Maura tried making Jane confront the issue. She knew that Angela and Korsak were having lunch in the park so she drove herself and Jane there to see if she could make Jane see what she saw when she looked at the couple. "What do you see, Jane?"

"Ma and Korsak." Jane grumbled.

"Not who, Jane, what?" Maura corrected. "Don't look at them like they're people you know. Look at them as if we were just people watching in the park and they were strangers."

It took awhile for Jane to stop brooding and to look at the couple the way Maura asked her too. Angela and Korsak were sitting at a picnic table with some burgers, fries and shakes from Angela's favorite fast food joint. They were talking and laughing, and when Korsak reached across the table to take Angela's hand, Angela smiled. It was a smile that Jane hadn't seen in so long she'd forgotten about it. It was the smile of a woman who was happy and content with her life and who she was. Jane kept looking for that smile after that and sure enough it would appear again and again whenever Korsak was around. Jane started to feel like a real heel. Her Ma had been so accepting and encouraging about her relationship with Maura and here she was giving her Ma nothing but grief about Korsak. Jane stopped being such a tool and was much more gracious and accepting after that. She even made a point of being the one to invite Korsak to Easter dinner.

"I'm very proud of you Jane." Maura said softly before giving her wife a gentle kiss.

Jane just shrugged, but there was a soft smirk on her lips. Yeah-ok sure personal growth wasn't such a bad thing when you got the kind of rewards Jane got when her beautiful wife was proud of her. But then again Jane was Jane so she couldn't let things get to emotionally deep. "Hell maybe if I'm nice enough to him he'll leave me his boat in his will."

"Jane!" Maura groaned and rolled her eyes but couldn't help but smile as well.


	4. Chapter 4

*First paragraph inspired by a blog post by youdontknowobesessed

The case that Boston Homicide was working was one of those really messed up ones that made Jane moan and groan over things she didn't understand. Their victim, a television writer spending her hiatus at home in Boston, was found murdered inside her car which had been left on a set of railroad tracks. Luckily someone had called in the abandon car before a train could hit it, but the intent was clear. Cover up the murder by making it look like the body had been killed in a train against car accident. Or at least that's what Jane had been thinking at first. Turns out there was a deeper meaning behind wanting the car to be smashed by an on coming train. The murderer was a young woman, a fangirl apparently, of the shows the victims wrote for. Yes, victims, Frost had discovered a similar murder in the state of Washington. Apparently this young woman had reached her limit with the on screen drama these two women put her favorite characters through. When yet another beloved lesbian couple was involved in yet another nearly deadly car crash, followed so closely on the hells of half of another couple being in a plane crash, the young woman snapped, killing first the head writer in Washington and now this one.

With the case finally solved Jane headed home for a nice quiet weekend with her wife. She was completely worn out as she walked into the house that evening. Every muscle in her body was knotted and aching. Her head hurt, her feet hurt, and she was starving. All she wanted was a good meal, a hot shower, and some peace and quiet with Maura in her arms. "Hey Ma." She said as she made her way into the room and over to the desk where she locked her gun up.

"Hi sweetheart." Angela said from the kitchen. "Dinner's almost ready and then I'll be outta ya hair. Vince and I are going to the movies tonight."

"That's good Ma." Jane said as she pulled out the lockbox from the bottom drawer and set it on the desk to punch in the pass code. After locking her gun up in the box and picking it up to put back in the desk drawer Jane noticed the pamphlets, brochures, and journals that were lying on the desk. As she put the box in drawer and slid it closed she read over the headlines and capitations. "Aww Ma! Now come on! Really? This isn't even subtle!" Jane snapped suddenly. "You're even playing on Maura's need to research everything! Come on, Ma! Jesus!"

All Angela could do was blink and look at her daughter as if she'd lost her mind. "What are you talking about Jane?"

"You're not so subtly placed hints at wanting a grandchild!" Jane barked as she snatched up a couple of the broachers and held them up. "What is IVF? Notable sperm banks in Boston. The pros and cons of using anonymous donors."

Again Angela blinked, "Those aren't mine Jane."

"Yeah, sure Ma, ok." Jane said sarcastically. "Frankie looking for sperm donors now?" She dropped what was in her hand and picked up a booklet from a sperm bank. "Did you go through and mark your favorites yet? Must be this tall, good looking, Italian, and loves long walks on the beach?"

"Jane." Angela said in that tone that said Jane was getting close to getting smacked. "Those aren't mine."

"Then whose are they?" Jane snapped as she glared at her mother with such a heated gaze it made Angela uncomfortable.

"Mine." Maura said softly from the hallway.

All the spit and piss Jane was feeling evaporated instantly. She looked at her wife and swallowed hard. "Yours?"

Maura simply nodded as she locked her gaze with Jane's.

"I think I'll leave you two alone." Angela said as her girls just stood there staring at each other.

They stood there for a long time before Maura broke the silence. "I've been having these feelings, Jane, these thoughts about what it would be like to have a child, for us to have a child. I wasn't sure how to bring it up, I know how you feel about having kids, but I couldn't help looking into it. I wanted to be as knowledgeable as possible before bringing up the idea. I didn't mean to leave those out in the open like that. I just picked them up yesterday and I was looking them over earlier. I guess I got distracted before I could put them away."

Jane wasn't sure if she should be angry or hurt or ashamed. Angry that Maura was doing this behind her back, hurt that Maura hadn't included her, and ashamed for making Maura feel as if she couldn't come to her as soon as she'd started thinking about this. "We should talk about this."

"But not now." Maura said, echoing the conversation they'd had awhile back while they were in bed.

"No." Jane said with a shake of her head. "No, I think now. Now's a good time."

Maura couldn't hide the surprise she felt at Jane's reply. "Really Jane?"

"Yes, really." Jane replied. "Let me get a shower and we can talk over dinner, ok?"

"Ok." Maura said with a soft, careful smile. When Jane passed her on her way to their bedroom she paused to give Maura a kiss, and that helped Maura to relax a little more. She had tried to ignore or dismiss the thought of having a child with Jane, but it would slip into her mind at the oddest of times. At night just as she was drifting off to sleep she would suddenly think about all the wonderful books she'd read to her little one at bedtime. Or she'd be sitting beside Jane on the sofa watching a game and suddenly think of how excited Jane would be about take her kid to their first Red Sox game or to see the Celtics for the first time. She would watch Jane being sweet to someone or see her being brave and think she wanted their child to be like that, sweet, brave, honorable. She would be putting on her make up and doing her hair and suddenly start thinking about the best ways to go about this so their child would look like their child, hers and Jane's.

As Maura finished off dinner and set the table she thought about all the times Jane had said she wasn't ever having children, that's what had kept her from coming to Jane sooner, but then she suddenly remembered that Jane had also said she wasn't ever getting married. They'd been married well over a year now, so much for that statement, and now Maura had just a little more hope.

Jane took a little longer in the shower then she normally would have. She'd be lying if she didn't admit that the thought of having kids had crossed her mind since getting together with Maura. If they had a kid would she do that cute little bottom lip thing Maura did when she was being cute? Would she bite her thumb when she was nervous? Would his eyes light up when he smiled? Would he be just as smart as his mother? And what would their kid take from her? Dark hair? Big doe eyes? Her sense of humor? Her protectiveness? Her loyalty and devotion to the people she cared about? Her weird distaste for the color pink and people's funky feet? How was this even going to work? Who would have the baby? How would they get the other half of what they needed to make a baby? How would the one not having the baby feel about the baby? There was just so much to talk about and sort out. It was all very scary and left a lot so uncertain that Jane wasn't sure she was up to this.

"Feeling better?" Maura asked when Jane joined her at the table.

"Yeah." Jane answered as she took her seat.

They were both quiet for a while, simply focusing on their food and their own thoughts. Maura didn't want to push Jane so she waited for Jane to start. Jane knew this but still took her time getting around to it. "What did you mean before when you said you know how I felt about having kids?"

"You've said it." Maura answered honestly after wiping gravy from the corner of her mouth. "It was almost a mantra. 'I'm never getting married and I'm never having kids.' You normally say it after a really hard case where there's a grieving spouse or children involved."

Jane thought about that and then said, "I guess at the time I said it I meant it, but since I am in fact married, I'm thinking maybe I didn't meant it so much in that big picture kind of way."

Hope flickered in Maura's eyes again. "Does that mean you wouldn't be opposed to having children?"

"I don't hate the idea." Jane said with a soft smile. "I think maybe if you wanted to you could tell me what you've researched so far."

Maura sat there in stunned silence.

Jane couldn't help but laugh. "Maura Isles is speechless. Well, stranger things have happened. Maybe us having a kid isn't so far fetched after all."

For the rest of the evening Maura walked Jane through the procedures and options for a lesbian couple that wanted to have children. To Jane's surprise Maura had no interest at all in adoption, at least not at this point in time. Her own experiences were still to fresh for her to even consider adoption, besides she really had a desire to be pregnant. Jane on the other hand didn't and wasn't sure if she ever would. Yes Jane knew it was selfish but she wasn't ready to make the kind of changes being pregnant would force on her. So that was one decision made, Maura would be the pregnant one. Or maybe that was two decisions made, the first having been the decision to have a baby.

"You're not going to have to take fertility drugs are you?" Jane asked Saturday morning while they were jogging in the park. "Cause that shits kind of scary and I don't want you putting your health at risk."

"I'll have a full gynecological exam before we start but I don't see a reason why I would need too." Maura answered. She was being very optimistic. Her age and the fact that they wouldn't be conceiving through intercourse were both factors leaning towards drugs being a possibility. "I'm in good health and I've never had any gynecological issues before."

Jane nodded, "Good because I don't want you ending up the next octomom and I don't want to be the star of TLC's next hit realty show."

To help ease Jane's concerns Maura called her gynecologist first thing Monday morning and scheduled an appointment. Jane went with her to the appointment and after a number of tests and a full exam they sat with Maura's doctor to talk about all their options. Since Maura was over thirty-five there was a change her fertility had decreased because of age, but other than that she was perfectly healthy and there was no reason they couldn't start with the easiest and most upfront fertility treatment, artificial insemination. The doctor did advise them of the risks that came with pregnancy after thirty-five and that scared Jane a little, but Maura assured her that the risks were low. She wasn't that far beyond thirty-five and she was in perfect health. She promised that she would do everything no matter how major or minor to ensure a safe and healthy pregnancy so she and their baby would be just fine.

They took things slow, adjusting to the idea of what they were doing and how it would impact their lives, but the more seeded the idea of a baby became the more they both wanted things to progress.

"Maura?" Jane said as she looked at the list of names on her wife's iPad.

"Yes?" Maura replied as she looked up from chopping vegetables for the stir-fry she making for dinner.

"Who are these men?" Jane asked as she turned the device around so Maura could see what she was talking about.

Maura glanced over the list of names and said, "Male acquaintances and potential sperm donors."

Jane blinked once and then went back to staring at the names for several long seconds before looking back up at her wife. "What?"

"I'm uncomfortable with the idea of anonymous sperm donation." Maura explained. "Lots of those men donate mass quantities of product."

"Product Maura really?" Jane said with a grossed out shudder.

Maura just gave her wife a look and then continued. "There are several reasons not to use an anonymous donor. As I was saying, most men donate a lot of product, and a countless number of couples use that product. It's mass saturation of the market. What happens when our child grows up and meets someone who could potentially be a half sibling and they wouldn't even know it?"

"That would be weird." Jane agreed.

"See." Maura said with that smug look that said she knew what she was doing even if Jane didn't. "There's also the fact that you can't possibly know the full medical history of the donor, you don't get to meet them to see what their personally is like, and it leaves a gapping hole if the child ever asks about it's biology."

Knowing about their biology, now it made sense to Jane. Being adopted had left Maura with a lot of questions growing up and she didn't want their child to go through that. Jane knew that was one of the reasons why Maura had flat out rejected the idea of adopting a child at this point. She could understand and accept that but she had her own issues they would need to work out before they went any further. "So you'd want the father involved in the child's life?"

Maura shook her head. "No, this will be our child Jane. Whomever we choose will legally agree to have no parental rights. We'll leave it up to them to decide if they would like to be contacted later when he or she is of age."

Having a child was something they both wanted. Jane was actually looking forward to having a baby with Maura, but who knew it would be so complicated. She had to think about this whole donor issue before she agreed to anything. She wasn't sure how she felt about using someone Maura knew and she didn't, but none of the men they knew together would work. She couldn't see them walking away from a child they'd helped create, and she was selfish enough that she didn't want to share their baby with anyone else. On the other hand who were these men to Maura? "Maura, you didn't date any of these guys did you?"

"Of course not Jane." Maura huffed, slightly offended by the question. "I would never do that to you. That would be awkward beyond reason. They're old friends and acquaintances who I know would be good matches and agree to our terms."

Jane looked over the list again, a little more carefully this time, and then asked, "Why are some of them already crossed out?"

"I didn't like the answers on their questionnaires." Maura answered and then took the iPad to open the file that held said questionnaire before handing it back to Jane.

She couldn't help but laugh. There were pages and pages of personal and medical questions about the men and their relatives. "Is this why you've been asking me random questions for weeks? Some of these I remember saying."

Maura nodded. "Of course I involved you Jane. I just wanted to narrow down the list before presenting it to you."

Ever since Jane found out about Maura's desire to have a baby they'd talked in great detail about it, about their options, and their wants and needs in this process so Jane didn't feel left out at all, just a little overwhelmed. "Ok, so what's the next step?"

"We meet with them face to face." Maura answered as she dumped her chopping into the wok. "And we pick one we both agree on and a back up."

"A back up?" Jane asked.

Maura simply nodded. "Incase the genetic and medical testing of the first doesn't pan out."

Jane rolled her eyes. "Of course."

"I know this seems like an awful lot Jane." Maura said softly as she moved around the kitchen island so she could wrap her arms around her wife's neck. "In a perfect world we wouldn't need an outside source to help us have a child, but unfortunately the research being done in Asia regarding same sex biological reproduction is still in its conception stage and decades away from any real breakthroughs."

"I'm in this Maura, I am." Jane said softly as she looked into her wife's pretty hazel eyes. "But it's overwhelming, not just all the freaking hoops we have to jump through, but the end result too."

Maura nodded in agreement but then asked, "You do want to have a baby together don't you Jane?"

Jane saw the sudden panic and insecurity in Maura's eyes and she could have kicked herself for putting it there. "Of course I do, Maur." She bit her lip for a moment and then groaned as she confessed, "I was picking up a new uniform shirt and some t-shirts at the cop shop last week and there was this stupid teddy bear with a little BPD uniform on and I thought "I'll have to come back and get this for the baby" and then walked around all day with the dumbest, sappiest smile on my face." The smile on Maura's face was anything but dumb or sappy, it was beautiful and sweet and full of love for Jane and it made Jane smile in return. "I want us to have a baby Maura, and all this crap, it'll all be worth it when we're holding our little one in our arms."

Maura nodded in total agreement and then gave Jane a kiss that curled the other woman's toes. When Maura pulled away she whispered, "You know Jane, we can have just as much fun trying to make a baby as any other couple."

"Yeah?" Jane asked in a husky whisper.

"Most certainly." Maura replied, her eyes promising Jane lots of enjoyable things later that evening.

Several days later Jane was standing in the lobby of headquarters waiting on her wife. They were meeting with the first of Maura's walking sperm dispensers for lunch and Jane was feeling a little uneasy. It helped a lot when she saw the smile on Maura's face as the blonde stepped off the elevator. "Hey."

Maura smiled brightly at her wife as she said, "Hi." They didn't do public displays of affection at work but the slight curl to Maura's lips and the slight lift of her eyebrow was her way of kissing her wife hello. "I don't see Benjamin yet."

"He's meeting us here?" Jane asked with a slight bit of panic. She didn't want her mother to get wind of this, she'd want to be apart of it and that would be weird.

"Yes." Maura said as she scanned the people passing. "He doesn't drive so he's taking public transit and then I thought we'd walk down to Paper Dragon for lunch."

Before Jane could reply a tall athletic looking man with dark hair, dark eyes, and olive skin called out, "Well, hello Lady Godiva! Long time to see sweets!"

Maura giggled as Benjamin hugged her hello. "It's good to see you as well, Benjamin."

"Lady Godiva?" Jane asked with her trademark what the hell look on her face.

Maura blushed as she introduced them. "Jane this is Benjamin Holden. Ben, this is my wife Jane."

The handsome man smiled as he shook Jane's hand. "It's nice to meet you Detective."

"Nice to meet you." Jane replied politely and then again asked, "Lady Godiva?"

Ben laughed, as Maura blushed a little more. "You never told her about riding nude across the field during a dressing event?" Maura shook her head and Ben laughed again. "Man do I have stories to tell you." He said to Jane as the three of them made their way out of the building and down the steps. Half way through their dim sum Ben shook his head and said, "Well this would explain why I never had a chance with you in college."

"You never had a chance with me in college because I didn't date artists in college." Maura teased back.

"Oh right." Ben said with a smirk. "Mommy issues. How is dear old Professor Prissy Pants?"

"Benjamin!" Maura scolded at his teasing of her mother. Then she huffed lightly and tried not to smile. "She's well, thank you for asking."

During the meal and walk back Jane learned that Benjamin's parents had been professors at BCU. His father taught economics, and his mother through whom he'd met Maura, taught theology. He'd been kind of geeky and quiet back in college. He said he was still a geek but much less mousy now. He was smart, athletic, and artistic which Jane knew Maura liked, and he had a good sense of humor. Over all it wasn't such a bad lunch, Jane met someone new who she kind of liked, but would she want him fathering her child?

"Why would you do this for us Ben?" Jane had to ask.

"You mean why father and child and then walk away?" Ben asked in return. "Personally I'm not the fathering kind of guy and I know it. I don't really do well in relationships and the ones I do have I tend to meet women who are like me, not really into the whole parenting thing. But, if someone else is, if I could help someone else have that, someone I know and I knew would be good to a child I helped make, then all she'd have to do is ask."

"Have you helped out anyone else?" Maura asked.

Ben shook his head. "No, you're the first."

After saying goodbye to Benjamin, Jane and Maura headed inside and to their respective offices to finish off their workdays. Over the next couple of weeks they met with a few more of Maura's picks. By number four Jane just had to say something, "Maura, you so totally have a type."

"What?" Maura asked as she hung up her coat and then turned to look at her wife. "A type of what?"

"Everyone we've met so far is tall, athletic, with dark hair and eyes." Jane said as she made herself comfy on the couch in Maura's office.

Maura titled her head as she said, "Well, of course they are. I selected them because they had physical traits, and some personality traits, in common with you. Jane, I want our child to resemble us as much as possible."

"Really?" Jane asked with a dopey smile.

"Yes really." Maura said, returning the smile and then walking over to her desk to look over some reports. While she did so she and Jane talked about Kevin Lawson, the marine biologist from Tampa. Then Jane gave Maura a name, an old friend who might be a choice worth looking into. Maura and Jane emailed him, he responded, and from they started corresponding back and forth. Two days after the shark guy she and Maura were sitting in the café waiting on the last man from Maura's list. When a man in Buddha robes waved to Maura through the café windows Jane asked through a clenched jaw, "Maura, is his a monk?"

Maura nodded with a bright welcoming smile. "Monastic from Japan, they're one of the few orders that allow monks to marry and have children."

Well at least this was slightly better then Daniel the ex-priest who they'd meet with last week. Jane put on her best smile and followed Maura to greet the newest contestant in who's gonna be the sperm donor.

Milo Evans was a Marine. His sister Sarah and Jane were close friends before Sarah was killed in the attack on New York. She and Milo kept in touch over the years so Jane felt she knew him well enough to offer up his name for the sperm pool. After his sister's death he joined the Marines and took to it like a fish to water. He was making a career of it, having passed his officer's exam a few years ago. Physically he had what Maura was looking for. He was tall like Jane; his hair was dark and would be curly if it weren't Marine buzz cut short. His eyes weren't as dark as Jane's, but they did remind Maura of Angela's eyes which were a mossy green. What struck a chord with Maura were the non-physical traits that Milo shared with Jane, his bravery, his courage, his sense of honor, his love of family, his sense of humor.

When Maura had asked him why he would do this for them he said, "I'm the only one left, Ma'am. My parents are gone. My sister's gone. So are my grandparents. I didn't come from a big family like Jane; there weren't many siblings on either side. I really don't want to be the last one out there, Ma'am."

"Then shouldn't you wait and have a family of your own?" Maura asked gently.

Milo smiled and shook his head, "I'm married to the Corps Ma'am. If I were to get married and have kids of my own, I couldn't give my all to them, or to the Corps and that wouldn't be fair to either. It's just who I am, Ma'am, it's all or nothing for me."

It really wasn't a hard choice to make after meeting Milo. He checked out medically, so did his family history, so once all the legal aspects were in place they were good to go. He was fine with the baby knowing who he was and if they wanted to meet him when they were older that was fine, but he would be in no way a father to their children. Any babies that came along would be Maura's and Jane's. He just wanted the peace of mind of knowing that a piece of him and Sarah was out there somewhere carrying on and having a good life.

With Milo's contribution, for some reason sperm made Jane do her 'that's just icky' dance, on ice all they had to do was wait for Maura to be ready. Since she and Jane had made the choice to have a baby together Maura had been tracking her cycle. So she knew exactly when she was ovulating so making plans to set things into motion was easy. Fancy restaurants and overly romantic nights out on the town was not how to woo Jane Rizzoli, no, Jane was more simple and down to earth about such things. Her favorite meal made at home, a Steve McQueen movie at the old theater that specialized in classic movies, and a couple of drinks at the Dirty Robber to check the sports scores made for the perfect night.

Jane only bulked a little when they went to bed that night. She was already in bed when Maura walked in with a needless syringe full of sperm just waiting for a nice long swim. They made love and while Maura lay drenched in sweat, panting for air, and still floating on a cloud of bliss Jane inserted the syringe and pressed down on the plunger.


	5. Chapter 5

Life, or the universe or the cosmos or whatever you wanted to call it was twisted. How was it fair that a naïve girl in high school who stupidly gives in to her boyfriend's peer pressure about sex can get pregnant easier then counting to one, but an adult couple in a loving and dedicated relationship, who's financially stable and emotionally ready can try and try and try with no success? Maura and Jane knew that conceiving wouldn't be easy, that it probably wouldn't work the first couple of tries, but the reality of it was far more heartbreaking then either had anticipated. They had started the process between their first and second wedding anniversaries, and now here they were on their way to their third and still no baby. They'd tried a couple of rounds of at home AI, then took a month off, then they tried having the AI done in the doctor's office using a tube that put the seaman closer to where they needed to be, but still no luck. With each passing month and each new failure Jane got more frustrated, but only because each failed attempt was another slash to her hopes, and because she had to watch Maura's heart break over and over again.

"All I'm saying is that maybe we should take a break!" Jane yelled as she aggressively stripped off her clothes, tossing them to the floor as if this was her shirt's fault and the slacks were in on it. "I'm not saying I don't want us to have a baby!"

"Well that's what it sounds like to me Jane!" Maura argued back while rubbing lotion into her elbows and down her arms.

"Your body needs a break Maura!" Jane said before storming into the bathroom to shower. "A few months won't hurt!"

"I'll just be that much older in a few months!" Maura spat. "And the older I get the harder it'll be!"

They'd been fighting for weeks over this. Maura was done trying AI and was more then ready to move on to in vitro fertilization. Jane wanted her to take some time between the last failed AI and starting the drugs she'd be taking so her eggs could be harvested, but Maura didn't want to wait. She wanted this baby. The only thing in her life she'd ever wanted as much as this baby was Jane. She got Jane, she has Jane, and damn it she'd have their baby too. Maura could understand Jane's concerns, while Maura was focused on having their baby, Jane was focused on her, but she wasn't going to let Jane's fears get the better of her.

"I just don't see why you won't give it a rest for a couple of months." Jane said when she returned from her shower.

Maura sighed. "Jane please, I don't want to fight about this any more." Looking up into her wife's eyes Maura could see Jane's emotions playing across those chocolate orbs like a movie on the silver screen. Finally she sighed softly as tears welled in her own eyes. "Three tries, just three, and then we'll take a break, I promise."

"Maura." Jane said softly, almost sadly as she sat on the bed beside her wife. There were other ways for them to have a family, to have kids, but there wouldn't be a family at all if there were no Maura.

"Jane this is important to me." Maura said quietly, as if somehow asking this of Jane would break something. They're marriage was strong but even the strongest things can take on damage in a storm. Maura wanted to push but she wasn't sure how far to go.

"It's important to me too." Jane replied. "I want us to have a family, Maura, I do. I just don't want it at the risk of loosing you."

Maura reached up and cupped Jane's face. "You're not going to loose me, Jane. Not physically or in any other way. I know this hasn't been easy, that things have been strained lately, but we'll get through this. You can be concerned, you can be worried, that's fine, but please don't let your fears get the better of you. Don't let being afraid of all the bad things keep us from getting the good ones."

For several long seconds Jane just sat there looking into Maura's eyes. There was such love and deviation in those striking hazel eyes that Jane couldn't help but melt. Her concerns were still there and they were still very valid, fertility drugs, medical procedures, it was scary as fuck, but she couldn't ignore the longing and love in Maura's eyes.

Fertility drugs had risks; they had side effects, just like any other drug. The morgue was a cool environment, especially the autopsy room, but Maura had taken off her scrub top, leaving her in a tank top she'd borrowed from Jane.

"Are you ok, Doc?" Frost asked as Maura began fanning herself with the file folder.

Maura nodded. "It's the clomiphene citrate." She explained. "The drug I'm taking to stimulate egg production. One of the side effects of the drug is hot flashes. I must admit this is not a pleasant experience and I am not looking forward to a repeat when I become menopausal."

"I spent a while summer of my childhood fetching bags of ice for my Grandma." Frost said with a sympatric look. "She use to hug the damn things like teddy bears."

On top of the oral medication, Maura was on a low dose injectable drug as well. This left her buttocks and upper thigh sore form the repeated injections that Jane gave her, or she gave herself, sore to the point where Maura would flinch when touched there. Since Maura was a back sleeper, it was also affecting her sleep because she was too sore to lie on her back. The drugs were also leaving her a little on the emotional side since she was being flooded with hormones. Somehow she managed to keep herself in check at work, though she'd had a close call when their latest victim was a fourteen-year-old boy. Jane could only stand there gawking as Maura shifted from anger over what she saw as the failure of their society to protect the boy from the kind of life that had led to his death, and her great sorrow over the loss of someone so young, just a boy who would never get the chance to be a man.

There was no such restraint at home. When Maura was pissed she was pissed. When she was aroused she was aroused. When she was cuddly she was cuddly. And when she was sad she didn't even bother hiding the tears.

"Maura." Jane said carefully.

"Yes Jane?" Maura said with a weepy sniffle.

"It's just a cartoon, Maur." Jane said as if she were about to step on a landmine and sure enough.

"But Jane!" Maura said, tears rolling down her cheeks. "Carl and Ellie! It's such a beautiful love story!"

Jane had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. "Ok, seriously, while you're on hormones you don't get to pick out movie night movies."

"Jane!" Maura protested.

"Maura!" Jane replied. "Last week you cried at Kindergarten Cop!"

"Don't yell at me!" Maura said, crying a little more now.

Jane sighed. "I'm not yelling baby. I'm sorry."

Maura sniffled. "I'm tired of being a hormone stew."

"I know." Jane said as she pulled her wife into her arms and hugged her tight.

"Jane." Maura said softly.

"Yeah?" Jane replied.

Maura sniffled. "You picked Kindergarten Cop."

Jane laughed. "Yeah, I know."

For women over the age of thirty-five IVF had a twenty-five percent success rate. That goes down by half for women over forty. For once in her adult life Maura was saying screw the stats and forget the research. She wasn't exactly listening to her gut, but she was listening to her heart. And her heart was telling her not to give up. She and Jane had gone through a lot before they came together. They walked a gauntlet of dirty cops, psycho serial killers, crime figure biological fathers, shootings, stabbings and ingrown toenails and come out of it stronger, happier, and together. This was just one more thing with a very important outcome that they would have to get through and they would.

When the first IVF failed Maura tried to be strong, tried to keep her hopes high and her confidence higher, but it was a hard blow to take. She was heart broken and spent the night crying in Jane's arms. Jane did her best to be strong for Maura, but as she held her wife she let her own tears fall quietly.

Maura wasn't the only one who wanted this baby so bad she would do anything to have it. Jane, who hadn't seen herself as a mother until Maura, found herself getting side tracked a lot when Maura sent to her to the store. She would wander around the baby section of Target looking at all the cute little clothes, smiling at a super tiny t-shirt with Yoda on it, or getting all choked up over a little sun dress with scrunch straps. A teeny tiny pair of Converse sneakers once sent her nearly running to the car in tears.

When the second try failed they started fighting again. Serious fighting that made the people around them uncomfortable. Fighting that led to Jane working late and crashing on the couch more nights then she spent in bed with her wife. And of course because they were both being so bull headed it took something traumatic for them to stop, talk, and realize they were taking their anger, frustration, and heart ache out on each other.

Korsak thought he was being clever when he'd sent the girls out in Frost's car to investigate. What harm could they get into at a yoga retreat? Angela had been one hundred percent in favor of helping her girls make up. Neither had any idea it would go so badly nor end up making everything all right again. Alone in the woods faced with hurting her wife in order to save her leg, Jane realized that love made you capable of doing the unthinkable. As she used the glass from her cell phone to slice open Maura's leg, the sound of Maura in pain rattling in her head, she understood why Maura continued to put herself, to put them, through this. Maura was already so in love with their child she would do, could do, anything and everything for it. As she cradled an unconscious Maura in her lap, Jane knew she'd do the same thing now too. She swore to God as sensei jackass forced them through the woods to the car where he bound them and then opened the waterway to drown them in polluted water, that she would move heaven and earth to give Maura what she wanted most, what they both waned so much it hurt.

"Maura." Jane said softly as they waited in the exam room for the doctor who would be doing Maura's third IVF. "If this doesn't work…"

"I know." Maura cut in, her voice soft and sad. "I said I would keep my promise about taking a break…"

"No." Jane said. "No, what I want to say is that if this doesn't work we won't wait, we'll just make a change."

"What kind of change Jane?" Maura asked as she looked into Jane's eyes, seeing the love she felt for Jane reflected back.

"I'll do it." Jane said sincerely. "You're eggs were healthy, the embryos are perfect, if this doesn't work then we'll try again with me."

Maura was astounded. "But Jane, you don't want to be pregnant."

"I want us to have a family, I want us to have a baby and be parents, and I want you to be happy and to get everything you've been dreaming of." Jane said, her voice thick and low with emotion. "So if that means I have to be pregnant then I can do that. For you, I would do that."

"Oh Jane." Maura said in a teary whisper before pulling Jane close and giving her one hell of a kiss. The kiss was so passionate and loving that when they pulled apart because of the sound of a throat being cleared, they both blushed because the doctor was blushing.

"Are we ready to try one more time to make a miracle ladies?" Doctor Rosenberg asked.

They both nodded while Jane said, "Lets do this, Doc."

For their second anniversary they'd gone on a sunset harbor cruise because it was something neither of them had done despite living all or most of their lives in Boston. Then they had a late dinner at a romantic little seafood place on the water. Jane had gotten a little daring with her gift and had gotten Maura a beautiful set of antique surgical instruments mounded for display that she could put in her office. Maura, sticking to the 'traditional' list of gifts, cotton being the gift for year two, got Jane a cotton towel. Of course it was a framed Boston Celtics rally towel autographed by the entire current team. Maura liked the sentiment behind the list, but Maura was still Maura and she wanted to give Jane something special. This year Maura had given Jane a membership to the Franklin Park Zoo because it was one of Jane's favorite places. The membership papers had been tucked into the inside pocket of a leather bomber jacket, so Maura could stick to her gift-giving theme; year three was leather.

"Jane." Maura said early that morning. It was Saturday, they were both off, and it was a beautiful early fall/late summer day. "Jane wake up. Lets go to the zoo."

Jane groaned. "What? Why?"

"Because it's a beautiful day and we haven't used the membership yet." Maura replied as she coaxed her wife from their bed with coffee. "We need a day to just relax and do nothing, Jane. Lets do it at the zoo. Please?"

Maura was giving her those great big eyes and pouty lips that she knew Jane couldn't refuse. "Ok, alright, we'll go to the dang zoo."

Jane loved the Franklin Park Zoo as a kid and went at least twice a year, once in the summer with her family and then again in October with her school, even when she was in high school. When the world got really shitty she went there as an adult too, just to walk around and get away from the crap in the real world, not that anyone but Maura knew that. Which she would guess explained the membership. As she and Maura walked around taking in the exhibits Jane couldn't remember the last time she'd felt this relaxed.

Maura was smiling sweetly as they sat on a bench outside the lion exhibit eating their lunch. She'd been waiting for a peaceful moment like this all day. As they watched a lioness, a heavily pregnant lioness, sunbathing she said, "By next spring there will be lots of new babies around here."

"Yeah." Jane said with a goofy smile. "One of the best parts about coming in spring are the babies."

"I suppose spring would be a little to early." Maura mused with a smile ticking at her lips just waiting to break out in a full radiant beam.

"To early for what?" Jane asked before sucking on her animal friendly paper straw.

"Oh!" Maura said, trying to act surprised at her own forgetfulness. "Didn't I tell you?"

Jane narrowed dark eyes at her wife. "Tell me what?"

Maura reached for her purse and pulled out sheet of printer paper. "Doctor Rosenberg called me yesterday." She could feel Jane stop breathing beside her. "He wanted to make sure I'd seen this."

Jane took the folded up paper and asked, "What's this?"

"Read it." Maura said as she bit her lip so hard she could taste blood.

Jane opened the paper and read, patient: Rizzoli-Isles, Maura, Maura's patient number, and a test date from three days ago. She continued looking the paper over, noticing the name of Maura's doctor, her birth date, and other information you'd normally find on a lab report. That's when it hit her that it was a lab report. Brown eyes flicked up to look into hazel before looking at the paper again. She scanned the page until her eyes came to a screeching halt on, Result: Pregnant. Jane looked up at her wife, now there were tears in Maura's eyes. "You're pregnant?"

Maura nodded slowly.

"You're pregnant?" Jane repeated before shooting to her feet and pulling Maura into her arms.

"Given the date of the IVF I'll be due around the end of spring." Maura said brightly. "To early to bring the baby to the see the cubs."

"You're pregnant!" Jane yelled out. "We're having a baby!"

"Yes Jane." Maura said, her voice laced with happiness and laughter. "We're having a baby."

The lazy lioness lifted her head at the human's scream of joy but had not interest in watching them kiss, and kiss they did. They had gone through so much to get to this point. They were having a baby and they each felt as if they'd earned this, as if they'd fought a good fight and were about to get their reward. They just needed to be a little more cautious, a little more careful, have a little more patience and soon they'd have that wonderful little blessing in their arms. They couldn't wait.


	6. Chapter 6

Maura Rizzoli-Isles was adorable on a good day. A pregnant Maura Rizzoli-Isles was the leading cause of diabetes among Boston homicide detectives, and it wasn't just her wife who was suffering from it. Even Korsak and Frost doted on Maura, going out of their way to do this and that for her, and Maura being as sweet as she was didn't have the heart to ask them to stop. She and Jane had kept the pregnancy to themselves at first, though their friends and family did notice Jane being just a little more attentive and Maura a little more cautious. After walking through the nine circles of hell to get where they were they wanted to make sure that Maura and the baby came through the first fragile stages safely before letting opening the flood gates and letting the others swarm in.

The first people they told were their mothers. Constance was at a conference in Egypt so they told her over Skype. Maura had been surprised by her mother's tears of joy, but had soon joined her mother at dabbing her eyes and gently sniffling. The moment they'd told Angela Maura had gone from her beloved daughter-in-law to something almost sacred. Maura made sure that Angela knew that this baby would be as much her grandchild as it was her own parents'. It was important to her that everyone understood that despite biology this baby was a Rizzoli.

After their first doctor's appointment following their announcement Angela was waiting for them on the steps of headquarters with a camera. They paused long enough for Jane to give a thumb's up in front of Maura's stomach as they mugged for the camera. The only reason Jane didn't kick up a fuss over this was because Maura wanted to keep a record of her pregnancy, she wanted to tell the story of their child from the very beginning. So there were pictures taken of Maura preparing a fruit and cheese tray in a little black dress with just the very hint of a baby bump, and one of her in her black scrubs, hands on her hips with even more of a little bump. Jane put little arrows pointing to the baby bumps and then wrote, 'you are here' and the number of weeks Maura was at. Every night Maura would print out whatever picture had been taken and pasted it into a beautiful leather bound scrapbook that they would have personalized after the baby was born. She and Jane would both write little comments or letters, thoughts or hopes, meaningful little things, and silly things they wanted their baby to know in the book. Maura laughed when she opened the book to add a picture of her parents and found a picture of Alec Guinness as Obi-Wan Kenobi with Jane's handwriting detailing, "This is a Jedi." There was also a clearly photo-shopped picture of two baby tortoises with light-sabers. "These are Jedi turtles." Maura couldn't help crossing out turtle and correcting it by adding, "Tortoises, Jane." Before going on to read, "I can't wait to teach you what a Jedi is." Maura got a little teary over the simple sentiment and tried to blame it on her hormones. Jane could be so sweet sometimes.

It wasn't uncommon for Jane to find her wife Internet window-shopping when she slipped into her office during lunch. Maura had a weakness for shoes. What was surprising, other then the lack of shoes on the screen, was what her wife was eating. "Maura?"

"Hmm?" Maura replied. She'd heard Jane come in and smelled her perfume long before her wife walked through the door.

"What are you eating?" Jane asked, trying like hell to hold in her laughter.

Maura looked down at her lunch and then up at her wife. "Chili cheese dog with extra onions French fries and coleslaw."

Jane had to bit her knuckle to keep herself from laughing. Maura was showing and a little touchy about it and Jane didn't want to set her off by laughing. "Maura."

"Hmm?" Maura replied once more.

"You don't eat hot dogs." Jane pointed out. "Entrails and eyeballs and hooves and all that remember?"

Maura pouted. "I know, but I just really wanted a hot dog. It's the pregnancy Jane. I'm craving things I wouldn't normally eat if I weren't pregnant. This morning I had an egg mcmuffin, Jane, it was really good."

"Is that what happened to my last bag of barbeque pork rinds?" Jane asked as she sat on the edge of her wife's desk.

The cute little pout on Maura's face got poutier. "I woke up hungry last night."

Jane leaned in and kissed those pouty lips. "Mmm, Dirty Robber chili. Did you go without me?"

"No, Frankie went for me." Maura said with a warm smile. "He was going on lunch and stopped by to ask if I needed anything."

"At least he's good for something." Jane teased and then turned her attention to Maura's computer. "FAO Baby?"

The honey blonde nodded with a radiant smile. "We need to start thinking about converting the spare bedroom or maybe the guest room into a nursery. The guest room is bigger but the spare room is closer to ours."

Jane looked at the beautiful circular crib on the screen and down at the price. "$1400 for a crib? Maura? Come on! Seriously? What's wrong with getting a nice crib at Target?"

"I'm just getting a feel for what's out there Jane." Maura said with a soft huff. "I was hoping we could go to some of the baby boutiques this weekend. Pick out some things we like, maybe find some themes we like so we can pick paint colors."

"I'm not hearing lets run to Target." Jane said, now she was the one pouting.

Maura gave her wife a look that said she wasn't furnishing her child's room at Target. Not that there was anything wrong with that particular store, in fact Maura rather enjoyed shopping there, but this was a far more serious matter. An Isles simply didn't do discount when it came to home décor. Besides, this was going to be their baby's personal space; it should be warm and comfortable, and durable.

"Ok, ok, we'll go shopping this weekend." Jane gave in after several seconds of trying not to give in. Truth be told she was kind of excited about the idea of baby shopping. Going shopping, doing little things for Maura like rubbing her feet and going out a three a.m. for a slurpee, it all made her feel a little more involved in this whole thing. From the very beginning Maura had been bearing the brunt of this baby thing and Jane wanted to do what she could to help. This was her baby too after all. Picking out furniture and bedding and stuff would help her feel closer to the baby. Jane was kind of worried about that. Right now there was this kind of forced detachment between her and the baby because she was out here and he or she was in there, so she was doing what she could to form some kind of bond with him or her. Every night after Maura had fallen asleep Jane talked to the baby, that was their time, and she cherished that.

Maura rewarded her wife's willingness to spend their day, possibly days, off going from store to store with her with a long, slow, kiss. When the kiss came to an end Maura's voice was husky as she said, "Jane?"

"Hmm?" Jane replied with her eyes closed, her forehead pressed against Maura's, drinking in the feeling of having her wife in her arms.

"Can we have grocery store birthday cake for dinner?" Maura asked sweetly.

Jane's eyes snapped open and then rolled. "I'll pick a small one up for dessert."

Because they didn't know the sex of the baby, both women wanting to be surprised, they had to find a nice neutral nursery theme. Jane wanted something fun and cute, while Maura wanted something cognitively stimulating and yet peaceful and zen. As they walked around the first store Jane saw something they just had to get no matter what theme they went with. It was a Cloud B Twilight Turtle, which was basically a turtle that projected stars onto the walls and ceiling. "It's a Bass light!" Jane said excitedly.

Maura couldn't reject the toy, not with the look of pure delight on Jane's face.

They looked around and picked up little things like the bassinet that would stay in their room, but had yet to agree on a nursery theme. Jane had said no clowns right off the bat. Jane hated clowns. Maura wasn't found of birds so bird themes were out. There was an unspoken unanimous agreement there wouldn't be an African jungle theme. After they had lunch they designed to head over to the paint store to pick out wall paint, thinking that would give them a better starting point. Maura feel in love with the idea of having grey walls and bringing in color through accents like wall hangings and rugs. It took Jane a bit longer to get comfortable with the idea of grey walls but the more Maura detailed it out the more she liked the idea too. So with paint colors picked out and a few texts sent to her brothers and Frost about helping to clear out and paint the spare room, since it was closer to their room, they were that much closer to a finished nursery.

The final store they went too, for that day at least, was mostly clothes. Jane groaned when she saw her wife's face light up. "Maura, we don't even know what to get yet."

"I know." Maura replied before wandering deep into the store. Before completely indulging in the cuteness of baby clothes she threw over her shoulder, "We can at least pick out a coming home outfit!"

"Dear God, I'm married to a woman with an unlimited platinum card who's high on baby hormones in an upscale baby boutique, help?" Jane said, as she looked skyward and then sighed when there was no response. "Even you know better don't you?" She chuckled and then walked off to find her wife. She never made it further then the section of hand made christening outfits.

"They're lovely, Jane." Maura said softly as she came over to stand beside her wife who was looking at a beautiful silk and lace gown. "We can have the baby christened in the church we were married in. I know it isn't the same but…"

Jane shook her head to stop Maura from going further. "No, I wouldn't want it done anywhere else. Father George opened his church to us with open arms. Him christening our kid, that's icing on the cake. I was just thinking about who we should ask to be godparents."

"Who do you want to ask?" Maura asked gently.

"Korsak or Frost but I don't know which." Jane answered. "I've known Korsak longer, we've been through a lot and he's always had my back. But so has Barry, he's a damn good partner and an even better friend."

"Why not ask both of them?" Maura asked.

Jane gave her wife a look that asked if she were serious. "That's not how it works Maura. Godparents are usually a godfather and a godmother."

"Yes, well, normally parents are a mother and father." Maura pointed out. "Our baby is going to have two mothers. Why not give them two godfathers? Besides Jane, we don't really have many female friends outside of each other."

"That's a good point." Jane said with a slight chuckle. Then she turned her attention back to the display of gowns and rompers. "I don't know. I'll think about it."

There was a busy kind of buzz in the bullpen of Homicide, just like any other office space, that Jane found comforting. It was familiar like her favorite shirt and fit her like her favorite pair of boots. Jane could tell when there was an extra bit of excitement, like when she announced she and Maura were having a baby, or when there was a sad cloud hanging overhead like when they lost an officer. Jane was in tune with her space as if it were a pulse, which is why when that buzz suddenly stopped her head jerked up from the witness statement she was reading over. Frost was sitting across from her, his hands still over his keyboard, his eyes wide. Jane turned her head slightly to see Korsak and Frankie suddenly in the doorway of Brick looking at whatever Frost was looking at. Slowly Jane turned to see what the guys were gapping at. The air in her lungs whooshed out like she'd been kicked in the chest by a horse. "Casey?"

"Hiya Jane." Casey Jones said with a careful smile. "It's been a long time."

Jane slowly got to her feet, her big brown eyes never leaving the army solider standing there before her. "Five years, Casey. It's been five years without a word."

"I can explain that." Casey said as he took a step closer to Jane.

Jane stood her ground. They'd been friends once and Jane had spent the last five years wondering and worrying about him. The only thing she knew was that he wasn't dead because that would have been covered in the St. Dominic's alumni newsletter, which she read for the sole purpose of looking for his name. When he was close enough Jane hugged him. "I'm really glad you're alright."

When Jane pulled away Casey was about to ask her if she'd like to have lunch and talk but as he looked her over he saw the glint of a platinum band on her finger. "You're married?"

"Three years, four this summer." Jane replied with a nod.

Casey couldn't hide the flicker of disappointment in his eyes. "Congratulations." He managed with a forced smile. "So who's the lucky guy? I'd like to buy him a drink."

"That would be me, Lt. Colonel Jones." Maura said politely from the doorway. She stood there with a soft smile on her lips and her right hand resting on her swollen stomach. "The drink is a nice offer but will have to wait. I'm currently unable and unwilling to consume alcohol at the moment."

Casey stood there looking at Maura for a long moment before looking back at Jane. She had the most amazing smile on her face as she looked past him to Maura. When he turned back to look at Maura, he could see that light reflected back. "Well," He finally said, a bit crestfallen. "I can't say I'm all that surprised."

That drew Jane's attention back to Casey with a surprised, "What?"

"Jane." Casey said with a bit of a sad chuckle. "The night I slept over at your apartment after we saw each other again at the awards thing, you told me I'd have to sleep on Maura's side of the bed."

"Oh." Jane said as she thought about that night. "But we weren't together then. We weren't a couple."

Casey just gave Jane a look. "Because having your own said of each other's beds wasn't a coupley kind of thing to do."

Jane glared at Casey and then softened. "Yeah, ok, you and everyone else who's ever come up with a because reason has a point." Her wife giggled from where she stood and Jane shot her a look. "Don't." She warned. Then she looked back at Casey and asked, "Where the hell have you been?"

"Like I said." Casey replied. "I can explain."

"Why don't you two have lunch?" Maura offered.

"Are you sure?" Jane asked as she moved around Casey to Maura. She didn't even think, it was just second nature now, to put her hand on Maura's belly. This of course got the newly mobile baby to kick. The first time Maura had felt it she was changing into her scrubs and there was the oddest little flutter. She stood there topless for a good ten minutes, still as a statue until she felt it again, she'd barely remembered to put a shirt on before going to find Jane. The first time Jane had felt the baby kick they'd been at a crime scene and Maura suddenly grabbed her hand and put it on her belly. Jane was on the verge of asking what the hell when she felt the thump against the palm of her hand. It was the oddest and most amazing thing she'd ever felt.

Maura nodded. "The baby was up late last night so I didn't sleep well. I'm going to take a nap in my office and then ask my wonderful brother-in-law to get me something from the market."

Jane turned to Frankie who was beaming a smile. "Do not buy her a pint of fresh peanut butter and let her eat the whole damn thing. Again."

Maura pouted. "We like fresh ground peanut butter." We of course meant she and the baby. Maura had been on a nut butter kick lately and would gladly clear out Whole Foods grinding station if left alone to do so. The look Jane gave her made her sigh. "Fine, I was thinking a cobb salad anyway."

That evening in between bites of peanut, almond, and cashew butter mixed together Maura asked about Jane's lunch with Casey. Jane told her that Casey had been injured by a roadside bomb and badly hurt, there'd been spinal damage, and that he'd spent the last five years in Seattle getting it medically treated. He could barely walk after the accident and being a proud man, he couldn't bare the thought of Jane seeing him like that. Jane said they were able to get closure and move on, that they promised to be friends.

With Maura's due date inching closer Jane finally called in the muscle to help get the nursery started. Friday they cleared out the spare bedroom and primed it after Angela gave it a god cleaning, Saturday they painted it, Sunday they touched up the paint so it was perfect, and Monday the professionals laid the new soft light grey carpet. Normally Maura would have hired people to do everything but she understood that putting the nursery together was important to Jane. Since Maura was carrying the baby the least Jane could do, according to Jane, was get the outside world ready for him or her. Which is why the following weekend she agreed to let Jane and the boys put together all the furniture. All the furniture was white, and there was a lot of it. Jane was working on the crib, there was also an armoire, changing table, dresser, bookcases, a glider with an ottoman, and night stands. The crib was one of those grow along deals that could be converted into a toddler's bed and then a child's bed, so it wasn't easy to put together. After he finished helping Tommy put the large white armoire where it belonged, Maura had drawn up help guide, Frankie went over to help Jane. Tommy moved on to putting together the bookcases while Frost finished putting in all the hanging hardware for the pictures and other wall mounted things that would bring color into the room. When he was finished he picked up the instructions for the crib and helped Jane and Frankie figure out what bit went into which hole.

In the kitchen Maura and Korsak were finishing their own little projects. Maura had had everyone do a handprint, which she had framed and would be hang in the nursery. She and Vince were getting the last two. Vince was dipping Jo Friday's paw in pet safe paint and pressing it gently to the paper while Maura was sitting on the floor of her kitchen trying to convince Bass to give her his front leg. "It won't hurt Bass I promise." She said gently while coaxing the tortoise out of his shell with a British strawberry. "You want to do something nice for the baby don't you Bass?"

Jo and Bass had become a bit of a theme in the nursery. There was a hand painted framed poster of a smiling cartoon Bass that read, "So Many of My Smiles are Because of You" and a cartoon Jo that read "You are Loved by So Many" On the wall over the crib was another hand done poster. In Maura's handwriting but painted by Constance the words, "Before you were conceived we wanted you. Before you were born we loved you. Before you were here an hour we would die for you. This is the miracle of love." Directly across the room from that in Jane's handwriting, "You bring light to our world. Love to our hearts. Happiness to our home. And utter joy to our family."

There were framed photos, and the handprints, books to fill the shelves of the bookcases. Jane had gotten the little BPD teddy bear, which would sit in the corner of the crib, if she ever got it put together. There was a little crystal tortoise with a little crystal dog on its shell, a left over trinket from their wedding, sitting on the base of the lamp next to the chair by the window. The bedding would come after the baby was born so it was gender color appropriate. There was a bassinet set up in their bedroom, stroller and car seats in the garage, high chair on order. They were stocking up on clothes, diapers, wipes, and everything baby thing they could think of and then some.

They were ready. Or they were as ready as any new parent would or could be. Now all they had to do was wait.


	7. Chapter 7

They were in the home stretch, the last inning, the final quarter. Anytime between now and two weeks from now they were going to be parents. Jane was excited and scared out of her mind all at the same time. Maura was nesting up a storm. She waddled around their home checking and double-checking to make sure things were safe, clean, and arranged just right. It was driving Jane insane. But not as insane as Maura's refusal to go on maternity leave was making her. Maura had started taking precautions as soon as she found out she was pregnant. She didn't lift bodies, was carefully about moving them, and avoided certain chemicals and whatnot, but she worked in her lab and on autopsies, wearing protective masks and gowns, until she was thirty-two weeks. Then she switched over to office work and supervising. She'd even found the time to hold a mini conference with all her assistant medical examiners from around the state. Jane thought part of Maura's reasons for sticking around was just to drive Pike, who would be filling in for Maura while she was on leave, crazy. Pike, who'd had issues with Maura being a woman before, really got his feathers ruffled now that he was taking orders from a pregnant woman. And Maura, well something about being pregnant had made her not just self assured but kind of cocky and ballsy. She didn't hesitate in the least to put anyone in his or her place and that included Pike. Jane's pregnant wife was all Dr. Sexy McBadass and she found that incredibly hot, which was great during the second trimester when the pregnancy hormones were running high, but now it just left her frustrated because Maura wasn't feeling very sexy these days.

Jane and Maura were on their way back from lunch near the harbor. Maura had scaled her consumption of seafood back just to be on the safe side, but when she wanted seafood, she wanted it now, and Jane was more then happy to give in to Maura's cravings, it was one of the little ways she had to participate in the pregnancy. Maura was sitting in the passenger seat with her head back against the headrest and her eyes closed. She had one hand resting on Jane's thigh and the other resting on her swollen stomach. "I think today will be my last day." She said suddenly. "I want to rest and just be at home these last couple of days."

In her head Jane was cheering and thanking God. Out loud she said, "I think that's a good idea." Then her phone buzzed. It was a text message from Frost saying they had warrants for their suspect's storage locker. They were really close to the storage compound, taking Maura back to the station and then driving all the way back out here would be wasting time. But on the other hand Jane didn't want Maura over excursing herself, she seemed really tired today and Jane wanted her to take it easy.

"Was that Barry with the warrant?" Maura asked as she opened her eyes and turned her head to look at Jane, while her hand began to rub slow circles over her belly.

"Um, yeah." Jane said slowly, as if she were forcing the words out.

Maura gave her wife a knowing look. "Would you even know the part we're looking for if you tripped over it, Jane?"

"No but…" Jane began.

"We're already out here, Jane." Maura said in that tone that told Jane not to argue. "Our suspect is under surveillance and he hasn't left his apartment or the watch unit would have phone it in. Lets have a look before he does decide to make a move."

Jane was really unsure about this. Something in her gut told her not to do this, to take Maura home, but if their suspect moved the evidence they were looking for their case was shot to hell. "Ok, ok." She finally gave in when she couldn't take the glare she was getting any longer. She sent Frost a reply text telling him she and Maura were going to head over to the compound to take a look around.

They parked in the handicap space closest to the outer door of the C building of the compound so Maura wouldn't have to walk far. After grabbing her medical bag from the trunk she followed Jane inside and to the bank of units that belonged to their suspect, there were three in all. The first one was totally empty but Jane would still have CSU techs go over it with a fine-toothed comb when they got there. The second one had what looked like brand new mattresses, a couple of brand new Lay-Z-Boys, and other living room accent pieces like throw pillows and blankets.

"Well he does work as a delivery man for a furniture store." Maura said as they looked around for the car part that would tie their case together.

"Yeah but I wonder if they know he's skimming the merchandise" Jane asked with a shake of her head. "Just one more thing to arrest him for." Maura was in the back corner of the unit trying to bend to reach something but she couldn't quite make it so she asked Jane to move a few things for her. "Is that it?" Jane asked. "Is that the part that was missing from the victim's car?"

Maura nodded. "Take that off and the oil pools. The heat from the engine ignites it, and we end up with a car fire that looks like an accident."

Jane was just about to pick the car part up when she heard something just outside the door. Just as she turned to face the open doorway the sound of the storage unit's metal door closing began echoed through the small metal room with an eerie clank. Jane rushed from the back of unit but she wasn't quick enough getting around the chairs and boxes, the door came down and locked. She started banging on. "Hey we're in here! Open the damn door! Hello! Hello, there are people in here!" But there was no reply. "Great, just great." She muttered as she pulled out her phone to call the front desk but there was no signal inside the unit, which made her ball up her fists and groan as she did that little ticked off shimmy Maura thought was really kind of cute.

"Jane?" Maura said softly as she looked over at her wife.

Jane took a deep breath and did her best to calm down. "Door must have been on a timer or something. Do you have any reception?"

Maura checked her phone. "A little." She answered and handed her phone to Jane.

The call she made to Korsak was spotty, their connection going in and out. Jane managed to tell him what happened and he told her that the watch unit had called; their suspect had managed to give them the slip. Jane's chest was so tight it hurt. It was very possible that their suspect had just locked them in a storage unit and she was fairly sure Korsak had said something about no one in the office was answering the phone. There'd only been one man working when she served the warrant, the crabby ass old man could have left. Or he could be dead. Jane did another frustrated shimmy.

"Jacobs!" Jane yelled, after explaining the situation to Maura. "If you're out there open this damn door!"

"Jane." Maura said softly, her eyes suddenly a little wide, her hands cradling her stomach. When Jane didn't reply she spoke a little louder. "Jane!"

Since no one was responding to her banging and yelling Jane was looking for a way to get the door open while still swearing, "When I catch you I'm going to…"

"Jane!" Maura yelled again. Maura never yelled.

Jane turned to look at her wife. "What?"

"I think, perhaps there's a very good chance, that the sudden stress of the situation has induced labor." Maura said simply as she tried not to double over in pain.

"What?" Jane squeaked as she rushed back to her wife.

Maura moaned, her eyes were closed, her breathing labored. "Oh! Oh, Jane, I'm in late stage labor."

"What the hell happened to early stage labor?" Jane asked with wide brown eyes that said she was close to panic. The last time she felt like this she and Maura were in the woods and Maura's leg was full of blood. She really had to stop taking Maura with her like this!

"That happened earlier." Maura said with a sheepish look.

"Maura!" Jane said with a stomp of her foot and her third frustrated shimmy in less then thirty minutes. When she was able to squelch her panic she took hold of Maura's upper arms and looked right into her pretty but frightened hazel eyes. "Maura Rizzoli-Isles you are not having that baby in a storage unit!"

"Then I would suggest you get us out of here Jane." Maura said calmly before taking several deep breaths. "Quickly would be good."

Jane helped Maura to sit on one of the plastic covered mattresses, pilled some pillows behind her, and then went back to trying to open the door, but it was locked from the outside. Dropping her head against the metal she mumbled, "This isn't happening."

"Jane." Maura whimpered.

The whimper twisted at Jane's heart. She went back over to Maura and knelt beside her. "It'll be ok, Maur." She said softly as she put an arm around Maura. She tried Korsak again but the call dropped so she tried a text instead. She just prayed he'd get it. Then she focused all her attention on her wife. "They'll be here soon, baby."

Maura leaned against Jane and closed her eyes. "It's been a week since lightening, which is when the baby's head drops into the pelvis. Last night there was a reddish brown stain in my panties. That was the mucus plug, which can be discharged days before active labor starts. My water hasn't broken yet but I've been having contractions since I woke up this morning."

"Why didn't you say something sooner?" Jane asked as she stared at Maura in disbelief.

"It was just the first stage of labor." Maura answered. "Latent labor is the longest and most passive stage. Contractions are uncomfortable but their purpose at that stage is to dilate the cervix. The contractions were erratic, not very strong at all, I barely noticed at first, so I thought we had time."

"You still should have said something Maura!" Jane scolded.

"I was going to!" Maura huffed back. "But I saw no need to panic you before it was time too!"

"When where you going to tell me?" Jane asked. "When there was a head peeking out between your legs?"

"Jane!" Maura said looking hurt.

Jane sighed. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I know you would have told me when it was time to tell me."

Maura nodded. She would have, but truth be told she was feeling scared by it all. Carrying a child, feeling it move and kick inside you, was a different kind of reality then actually having the child in your arms. This was the final step, the final journey in becoming a mother, and Maura was scared. Telling Jane she'd started labor would have been voicing the reality of the situation and she needed a few more moments to come to terms with what was about to happen on her own first. She had planned on telling Jane after lunch but she hadn't had a contraction or any other symptom in hours so she hadn't, not until now, just after feeling a wave of panic wash over her. That sudden moment of stress not only restarted what she'd felt earlier but skipped her ahead in the process quite a bit as well.

"Do you feel that?" Jane asked when she felt something wet seep into the side of her pants.

"Oh dear." Maura said, her eyes going wide. "Jane, Jane my water just broke."

"Maura." Jane said gently but firmly. "Stop, you can't have the baby here!"

"We might not have a choice." Maura said honestly. "Get my bag."

"Why?" Jane asked with wide brown eyes. Panic once again sitting in. This isn't how this was supposed to happen. Maura was suppose to tell her she was going into labor, Jane would have a brief moment of panic, and then take Maura to the hospital. They were supposed to be in a big expensive birthing suite with a shower and a birthing tub and Yo Yo Ma playing in the background while Maura sat in that tub. She was not suppose to have their baby, who they'd waited so long for, on a stolen mattress locked in a storage unit in the middle of fucking nowhere north of Boston.

Maura had her eyes closed as she breathed through a really strong contraction. "Get the damn bag Jane!" She growled. "You need to check to see how dilated I am. That will tell us how long we have before delivery."

Jane got up to get Maura's bag. Maura didn't get aggressive often, but when she did it was better just to do as she said. Why had she let Maura come along? Why hadn't she followed her gut and taken Maura home when she wanted too? Pulling out Maura's phone she tried Korsak again.

After getting Maura's panties off, her skirt was bunched up around her waist, Jane looked up at her wife and asked, "What am I looking for?"

Maura explained to Jane what to look for, how to gage how dilated she was but Jane became flustered. So instead Jane, who was familiar with the region in question, told her what she saw, how it was different from normal, and Maura interrupted that. They didn't have much time, her contractions were getting stronger, closer together, and she was dilating quickly. This actually happened a lot with cop's wives, the stress of their partner's jobs often triggered sudden labor. But they were hardly ever with their partners at the time of the stressful or traumatic event; Maura always was the odd one in a group of peers. Jane used what she could to make Maura comfortable and cracked jokes about sending a check to the store for all the stuff they were about to ruin.

Jane had known Maura for a long time, had been amazed by her before, but nothing like this. Watching Maura go through labor, watching her suffer the pain, though it was breaking her heart, made Jane realize just how lucky she was and how remarkable Maura was. During a grace period between contractions Jane kissed Maura lovingly and said, "I love you so much."

"I love you too." Maura said as Jane brushed her sweat soaked hair from her face. She closed her eyes as Jane placed a soft kiss on her forehead and then cried out a blood-chilling scream. This was it; these were the final contractions that would end in them meeting their baby.

"You can do it Maura!" Jane said as she watched in wonder as the top of a tiny head crested, pushing its way out. She reached out, carefully helping the baby along when Maura told her too. Through gritted teeth her wife explained just how to deliver their baby while pushing that baby through a very small opening, and before long Jane had the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen in her hands. "It's a boy, Maura." Jane said as tears rolled down her cheeks. "He's a beautiful little boy."

Maura choked back her own sobs as she told Jane how to clear his airways and how to use what was in her bag to tie off and cut the umbilical cord. His first cry was loud and strong and Maura laughed and sobbed all at once.

"Whoa." Frankie said as he, Frost and Korsak stormed into the building. "Do you hear that?"

"Is that a…" Frost began, his eyes going wide.

"Baby?" Korsak finished.

Jane wrapped their son in her blazer and then placed him in Maura's arms. "He's perfect and strong and a bit of drama king. I mean, damn, what an entrance into this whacky world." She said as she looked down into his sweet face.

Maura was beaming. She didn't even bother to tell Jane to watch her language. She was simply to enamored with her son. "Hello little one. Welcome to the world sweetheart. Mama and I have waited on you for a long time."

When the door of the unit opened the sight that greeted Korsak, Frost and Frankie caused their jaws to drop. They didn't even have time to blink as the paramedics rushed into the room. Korsak had gotten the texts about Maura's labor and they'd brought EMS with them. The three of them just stood there as the paramedics checked Maura and the baby over before loaded Maura onto a stretcher while Jane held their son. Then suddenly Frankie got the biggest smile on his face and said, "I'm an uncle!"

Korsak and Frost smiled, punched each other in the shoulders and congratulated each other on becoming co-godfathers.

When they got to the hospital Maura and the baby were checked out in the ER and then moved up to a private room. Maura was fine, a little weak but no worse off then a mother who'd given birth normally in a hospital rather then a metal box of a room in the middle of nowhere. The baby was perfect too. Strong, healthy, scoring perfect tens on his apgars. Jane had the biggest smile on her face when she walked into Maura's room with their son in her arms. He was medically cleared, clean and shiny, and swaddled in a soft blue blanket with a little white cap on his head that had the name of the hospital and little pair of Red Sox red socks on it. "A hospital after my own heart." Jane said as she put their son in Maura's arms. "He even gets a tour of Fenway when he's five!"

Maura chuckled softly while looking down into the face of her son, their son. She and Jane were parents, mothers, and if her heart were any more full it would burst. "Oh Jane." Maura whispered, her voice laced with tears of joy. "He's amazing."

"He needs a name." Jane said with a soft chuckle. "We can't keep calling him he."

While his mothers were working on his name his grandmother came bursting onto the maternity floor with a scout of, "Where are my girls! Where are they? Are they ok?"

Frankie stepped out of the waiting room with a, "Ma! Shhh! This is a hospital!"

"What happened Frankie?" Angela asked, fear and panic bright in her eyes. "Is Maura's alright? The baby? What happened?"

"They're fine Ma." Jane said as she came towards. "Great timing by the way. Maura's asking for you."

"Me?" Angela asked with wide eyes.

This was a moment Maura had been waiting for, for a very long time. Ever since she and Jane first started talking about having a baby she'd imagined what this moment would be like. It meant more then words could express to her that she was giving Angela, a woman who had taken her into her own heart and family so easily, who'd given her nothing but a mother's love long before she and Jane were together, the one thing she wanted more then anything else in the world. When Angela stepped into the room with Jane behind her Maura looked up from staring at her son. She smiled a huge smile, her eyes already watering with tears, and said, "Angela, come meet your grandson."

"My grandson." Angela repeated, her voice cracking with emotion as she walked over to Maura and the baby.

Maura handed the baby to Angela, putting the woman's very first grandchild in her arms, and said, "Matthew James Rizzoli-Isles, this is your Nonna. She's been waiting for you for a very very long time."

"My grandson." Angela choked back a sob, as she looked into the tiny little face of the most perfect little boy since her own sons were born. "Hello Matthew. Welcome to family you precious little boy." With tear filled eyes Angela looked up and into Maura's eyes as she said, "He's so beautiful. He's so perfect."

"He's so got you wrapped around his little finger and he isn't even an hour old." Jane said with a snort.

Angela shushed her daughter before leaning in to hug Maura and kiss her forehead. "You have no idea how happy you've made me, how happy you've made all of us, my daughter, my grandson. Oh I'm the happiest woman in world!"

It wasn't until several days later that Jane saw what Maura had done. They'd both liked the name Matthew, it meant gift from God and after everything it took to get him, Matthew was indeed a gift. But Maura had come up with and insisted on the name James, and it finally hit her way. Maura was using James as the male equivalent to Jane. It struck her as she was putting birth announcements into envelopes. Jane and Maura would like to introduce their son, Matthew James Rizzoli-Isles. Her son, Jane still couldn't believe it. She had a son. Looking up from her task she glancing at her napping wife. Since Constance's arrival the grandmothers were taking turning cooing over their new grandson, which gave Maura time to rest. Jane smiled, got up and joined her wife on the bed. She kissed Maura gently, not wanting to wake her and then whispered, "Thank you for my son."

Maura smirked. "You're very welcome."

Jane chuckled as she pulled Maura into her arms and pressed a kiss to her neck before whispering in her ear. "I love you so damn much Maura Isles."

"I love you too Jane." Maura replied with a sign so happy, so content, it made Jane's heart swell.


	8. Chapter 8

It was like that feeling you get just before you wake up minutes before the alarm clock goes off. That strange tickle in the back of your subconscious that tells you to wake up for some reason you can't explain. Jane cracked her eyes open to look at the clock on her nightstand. The dull green glowing numbers read zero-two-three-seven. She groaned inwardly, just a little past two-thirty in the morning and she'd just gone to bed at midnight. Why was she up? Oh, right, there's a baby in the room who was about twenty minutes from screaming his little head off for something to eat. As carefully as she could Jane got out of bed, paused to make sure her wife was still asleep, and then after a long slow stretch made her way over to the bassinet where her sleeping son lay. Jane stood there a moment just watching Matthew sleep. Like his Mommy he was on his back, his head turned slightly to the side, and his little fist tucked into his cubby little cheek. Her son was the most precious thing on this Earth to Jane, just like his mother, and she couldn't help but smile at that.

As gently and as carefully as she could Jane wrapped Matthew in his blanket and picked him up from his bassinet. With her son tucked safely in her arms Jane made her way out of the bedroom, closing the door gently behind her, and into the living room where she put Matthew in the Moses basket they kept in there for him. It was a beautiful piece complete with a stand, making it almost like a cradle. Jane waited to make sure Matthew wasn't going to wake up and then went to the kitchen to warm a bottle of breast milk. Maura being Maura, she had done a lot of research on, well just about everything actually, so they had a lot of stuff around the house that made her Ma go, "We never had this when my kids were babies." And even Constance was like, "If we'd had this when Maura was a baby maybe she wouldn't have…" It was really cute hearing about Maura as a baby and it made Jane smile as she carefully screwed the nipple top onto the First Years breastflow bottle.

As if he somehow knew his milk was ready Matthew began to fuss, which quickly turned into a whimper, and then an all out cry. Jane was ready but had waited, letting him get to the crying stage before picking him up. They didn't want him getting use to being attended as soon as he began to fuss because they knew he'd work out pretty quick that if he fussed or whimpered they'd do what he wanted, so she and Maura always waited just a little bit before going to him. "Hey buddy." Jane said softly. "Are you ready to eat?"

She sat on the sofa and adjusted Matthew in her arms before giving him his bottle. Matthew stared up at her with eyes that were darkening into a gorgeous forest green. When he was born his eyes were blue-green but as the weeks went on more of the green was setting in, which thrilled Maura because green eyes were actually the lest common eye color, and because she'd been worried that if they headed down the blue path he'd end up with Paddy Doyle's eyes. Jane smirked because the way Matthew was looking at her right now reminded her of his biological grandfather and it had nothing to do with color. She could read his annoyance as he sucked on the fake nipple and chuckled. "I know buddy, I know. It's not nearly as good as the real deal. Trust me, I get it, I'm a rather huge fan of your Mommy's breasts too. Though for totally different reasons that you don't need to know about until you're like thirty-five."

After two ounces Jane lifted Matthew up to her shoulder and began patting his back. After he burped she gave him his bottle back. While he sucked, his eyes darting around taking everything in, she just let her eyes roam of him as if memorizing every inch of him. His hair was fine, a dark blonde almost brown, but according to Constance it would be blonde soon enough. Maura's hair had started dark, lightened when she was very young, and then darkened again when she was a little older. His little limbs were long, a sure sign according to her Ma that he would be tall. Maura liked that sound of that. With his dark blonde hair and green eyes she'd been worried that he wouldn't resemble Jane at all, but having her son look like her didn't matter to Jane. The moment she'd held him in her hands she was his mother. The moment she helped deliver him, the bond between them was unbreakable. This was her son and she was his mother. Period.

After Matthew was feed, burped, and changed into a fresh diaper he and his Mama made their way back to the bedroom. Jane settled him into his bassinet after placing a soft kiss to his forehead, and then climbed back into bed her self. In three hours he would be hungry again but that was Mommy's time and as much as Jane tried to help when she could, she always let Maura handle that one. Maura loved the mornings, always had, so sharing those first few hours of the day with her son was something special and always would be.

Sure enough when Jane got out of bed the next morning she found Maura sitting in the chair in the nursery, topless, bathed in the warm morning sun coming through the window with their son suckling her breast. She could have almost sworn the look Matthew gave her was one that said, see, this is the right way to do it, Ma!

Everything about a new baby scared new parents. Matthew had started crying half an hour ago and just wouldn't stop, and they were starting to panic. They tried offering him a bottle, but he wasn't hungry. They changed him, but he was still dry. They walked with him, bounced him, did everything they could think of and he was still crying. Maura wanted to rush him to the hospital but Jane convinced her to try something else first.

Angela walked into her daughters' home and took in the scene. Matthew was crying and both of his mothers' looked frazzled and teary eyed themselves. Walking over to Maura she smiled softly and said, "Let me see him."

Jane and Maura watched as Angela checked her grandson over, neither of them liked the smile on the other woman's lips. They were new mothers, just learning the ropes, and she had experience. Of course she was going to know things they didn't, but she didn't have to look so smug about it. Or at least they thought she was being smug, it could just be their lack of sleep and guilt over not being perfect parents that made them think she looked smug.

"Janie sit down on the couch and put your feet on the edge of the coffee table." Angela ordered.

"What?" Jane asked. "Why?"

"Cause your legs are longer." Angela replied. "Just do it."

Jane sat and put her feet up so that her knees were bent. Angela placed Matthew on Jane's thighs so his body was nicely stretched out. "Now rub his belly." She told Jane. Her daughter gave her a look and again she said, "Just do it."

So Jane did it, she rubbed Matthew's belly while he squirmed and stretched. It took about five minutes but then she felt a ripple under her hand that was quickly followed by a diaper-rumbling fart. She literally felt the rumble on her thighs and it made her laugh in relief because as soon as he was finish fating, Matthew stopped crying.

"Just gas." Angela said with a smirk.

"Wow buddy." Jane said as let Matthew grab hold of her fingers. "That was impressive."

Maura had a slight frown on her face as she reached out to rub her son's tummy. "It must have been something I ate last night that made the milk gassy."

"Don't blame yourself sweetheart." Angela said as she smiled down at her daughter-in-law. "You have a son now. There is going to be lots and lots of gas in your foreseeable future. Tommy and Frankie still try to out fart each other. It's a boy thing. You'll get use to it."

A week after Matthew and Maura had been released from the hospital, while gifts were being delivered from friends and colleagues; a present was delivered that shook Maura up a little. It arrived the morning of Matthew's christening, special delivery. It was a beautiful white christening blanket with a shamrock on it and Matthew's name embroidered on it, and a baby sized rosary bracelet. No one needed to ask, they didn't need a card; they all knew it was from Paddy.

"Paddy isn't going to hurt Matthew." Jane said softly as she held her wife.

Maura looked down at the sweet face of her son and said, "I know."

"He isn't going to risk trying to be apart of his life either." Jane tried to reassure.

Maura nodded. "I'd turn him in the moment I saw him. I don't want him and his life near our son."

"He won't be." Jane said firmly.

"But he'll be watching from a distance." Maura said as she looked up. "Like he did with me."

Jane sighed softly and then kissed the side of Maura's head. "Like it or not, Maura, you and Matthew are the only family he has. He loves you that I have never doubted. Let him watch from a distance as long there's no contact."

They would both protect their son at all cost and that included sending Patrick Doyle to prison, or to hell, Jane wasn't picky when it came to protecting her family.

Just as Maura had shaken her uneasiness about Doyle another surprise showed up at her door. She was sitting on the couch with Matthew and her mother when the bell rang. She looked up, was about to stand when her mother put her hand on her thigh to stop her.

"I'll get it my darling." Constance said as she smiled lovingly at her daughter and grandson. It meant the world to her to be here for Maura, to get the chance to spend time with her and with the baby. It seemed like she couldn't stop smiling these days, but her smile faded a little when she opened the door. She didn't know the woman but she who she was. She knew because she could instantly see her daughter in this stranger's face, in her eyes, in the slope of her nose, in the tick of her smile, and it felt like a knife prick to her heart. "Doctor Todd. This is a surprise."

Though they had never met Hope knew Constance on sight as well. Here stood the woman who had gotten to be a mother to her child. The woman who'd gotten to hear Maura's first word, see her take her first step, watched her in her first dance recital. It hurt; Hope could admit that to herself, if not to anyone else. "Mrs. Isles. I hope I'm not intruding."

On the sofa Maura's eyes had gone wide. She really hadn't expected to ever see Hope Todd again. Getting up she carried her son over to his Moses basket cradle and gently tucked him safely inside. Then she went to the door to stand behind her mother. "Hope?"

"Hello Maura." Hope said with a soft, unsure smile. She held a gift, wrapped in blue paper with ducks on it, and a big yellow bow. "I hope you don't mind me just dropping by like this. I struggled with it, I mean I don't really have a right to, but I'm on my way to New York and I thought I'd make the stop in Boston.

It was Constance who said, "Please Doctor Todd, do come in."

Hope looked at Maura for her approval first. Maura gave a slight nod. Hope held out the gift. "Congratulation Maura. I'm so happy for you and Jane."

"Thank you." Maura replied as she accepted the present.

For several long moments the three women just stood there. It was awkward and Maura wished Jane were home, but she'd sent Jane and Angela to the store not long ago. It would be at least an hour before they returned home. Finally after what felt like forever Maura asked, "Would you like to meet him? My son?"

"Yes." Hope said, her voice soft to hide her emotions. This was her daughter after all, her grandson, they were a part of her; Maura had always been a part of her even if it had been best for Maura for them to be separated. "I would like that very much."

Maura walked over to get her son while her mother and Hope moved further into the living room. "Someone's come to say hello, Matty." She said softly as she picked the baby up. She kissed his little cheek and then carried him over to where her mother and Hope were standing. "His name is Matthew." She said even thought Hope would have known that already. She'd asked Jane to send Hope a birth announcement.

"Hello Matthew." Hope greeted softly as she reached out to pull the blanket aside a bit so she could see his face. A soft sob stuck in her throat. He looked so much like Maura when she'd been born. Looking into his sweet face she remembered those few brief moments she'd held Maura in her arms. "You scrunched your little brow just like that when we first met." She said softly to Maura who looked at her oddly so she clarified. "The very first time we met." Once she saw understanding in Maura's expression she turned to Constance and said, "You have a very beautiful grandson, Mrs. Isles."

Constance beamed and relaxed a little. "Thank you."

Hope didn't stay long. She did hold Matthew while Maura opened the gift she'd brought. It was a tummy time play mat, the softest stuffed koala Maura had ever felt, and a cute little outfit with puppies on the tan pants, one little puppy on the pocket of the white shirt, a little varsity sweater and a little newsboy cap with matching puppies. "Thank you." Maura said grinning at the little hat. "It's adorable. I'll email you a picture when we dress him in it."

"I'd like that." Hope replied with a smile. She only stayed a little longer after that. She had a train to catch; she'd only come to Boston to see Maura and the baby. As she was leaving she turned to Constance and said, "Thank you."

"I should be thanking you." Constance said in reply. A moment passed between the two women. One thankful to the other for doing what she couldn't, the other thankful for the gift she'd been given.

When they were alone Maura asked her mother, "Just now, the two of you were talking about me weren't you?"

Constance smiled and kissed her daughter's forehead. "Of course we were my darling. Who better to talk about? Aside from this handsome little man of course."

Maura let her mother take Matthew from her arms and smiled just as Jane and Angela walked in.

Jane rushed to Maura as if something dangerous had just happened. "Was that… Did we just pass…"

"Hope stopped by to give Matthew a gift." Maura said with a nod.

"Are you ok?" Jane asked as she looked into Maura's eyes.

Maura smiled and nodded. "I'm fine, Jane. We're all just fine."

Jane looked into her wife's eyes for a long moment before she relaxed a little. Then she turned to her mother-in-law. "Constance?"

"I'm alright darling." Constance said with a loving smile. "Thank you for you concern, Jane. It means a lot."

"It couldn't have been easy." Jane said softly.

"It was," Constance paused and then said, "Awkward. But without that woman I would not have my daughter, and without my daughter I would not have my grandson, so I will always be grateful to her for the gifts her choices gave me."

Angela sniffled. "Our family is so beautiful."

Jane groaned and rolled her eyes.

Because Jane had to legally adopt Matthew under Massachusetts's law she was entitled to maturity leave. Jane took the full eight weeks she was allotted, Maura would be taking more, but before she went back to work there were some things they needed to see to first. Namely picking out a nanny. They had started the process while Maura was still pregnant after Maura refused to let her ask her mother. "Jane." Maura huffed. "We are not asking your mother to give up her successful business to stay home with the baby. She's already put her time in when it comes to full time childcare. Let her have fun and enjoy being a grandmother rather then a babysitter."

Maura understood Jane's reluctance to hire someone, to hand their child over to a stranger while they were at work, but if they were very careful and mindful of the process they could and would find someone trustworthy. As far as Jane's concerns about their child being closer to a nanny than to them, well, Maura wouldn't let that happen. She'd grown up with nannies, she'd been the kid who was closer to her nanny then she was to her parents, and she wasn't about to let that happen with her son. She and Jane would be the central adults in his life and that was that. She wasn't going to make the same mistakes her parents had made. If she had to she'd quit her job in a heartbeat, but she didn't have too, she just needed to be very precise about all of this. So she'd started looking into agencies while she and Jane talked about what they wanted in a nanny.

Now that Matthew was here and Jane's time at home was running out they started meeting with people from the agency they'd picked. Jane liked that the women, and a couple of men which she found odd, were licensed and bonded. They both wanted someone with experience, impeccable references, and a solid education; someone who clicked with them and their family, and who didn't freak out at the sight of Jo or Bass. Maura wanted someone cultured, refined, bilingual, artistic, athletic, someone who would do more then just babysit. She wanted someone who could educate and nurture Matthew the way she had been. Needless to say it wasn't easy finding someone Jane trusted right off the bat and met Maura's high standards.

Maura was sitting on the sofa playing with Matthew when her phone buzzed with a text message. After gently extracting her finger from her son's grip she picked up her phone and read. "It's from Nana." No grandmas in this family, no, Matthew had a Nonna and Nana. "She says, I hear you're still having issues finding a nanny." Maura rolled her eyes and looked at her son. "You're grandmothers have been talking about us behind our backs, Matty." Then she looked at the message again. "Sending you something that might help. All my love my darlings, Mom."

"What is she sending?" Jane asked as she came out of the kitchen with two sandwiches and a couple of sodas.

"I have no idea." Maura said as she picked Matthew up to put him in his bouncy seat so she and Jane could have lunch. "The message didn't say."

The next morning while Maura was nursing Matthew in the nursery there was a knock on the door. Jane yawned as she made her way over and just managed to close her mouth as she pulled the door open. On the other side was a woman around Angela's age, maybe a little older, with salt and pepper hair, grey eyes, and a stern but soft expression on her face.

"Good morning." The woman said, her voice slightly accented but Jane's brain wasn't awake yet so she couldn't pin point it. "Mrs. Isles I presume?"

Jane opened her mouth to correct the woman but didn't get a chance.

"I hope I haven't come to early." The woman continued. "But Maura always was an early riser, so I figured she'd be well awake by this hour of the morning."

Brown eyes narrowed as Jane asked, "Who are you?"

Before the woman could reply Maura's voice rang out, "Gretchen!"

The older woman's face lit up as she bypassed Jane and walked into the house. "Hello buttercup."

Maura rushed to the older woman and wrapped her arms around her in a crushing hug.

Jane closed the door and then stood there with her arms crossed waiting on an explanation.

When Maura pulled back she said, "I haven't seen you in ages!" Then she caught sight of Jane and blushed. "Jane, this is Gretchen Fuchs. She was my nanny."

Jane relaxed a little after hearing that. "It's nice to meet you."

"The pleasure is all mine, Mrs. Isles." Gretchen replied before turning her full attention to Maura. "You're mother has told me everything."

"So you're the something she sent me to help?" Maura asked as they made their way to the sofa to sit. "But I thought you retired?"

"From being a full time hands on nanny, yes, I have." Gretchen said. "I had to after my hip replacement, harder to run after the little ones these days I'm afraid, but I am not the type to simply do nothing. I now run the agency I once worked for."

Maura's eyes went wide. She was impressed. Turning to Jane she said something in French and then explained, "It's the most renown, most prestigious, most honored agency is Europe. They provided child care to the royal houses for generations." Then she turned back to Gretchen. "But the agency doesn't service the Untied States."

Gretchen smiled softly. "We have been known to make exceptions."

"Excuse me but we have an agency." Jane spoke up. "One we picked out together."

"Yes, but Jane, we haven't found anyone they've sent that we like." Maura replied. "And you go back to work in two weeks."

"Mrs. Isles is right, Maura, this should be a choice you make together." Gretchen said, and then turned to Jane. "I will tell you about my agency, Mrs. Isles, and you may ask all the questions you like. If you agree, I will spend a couple of days with you and Maura and Matthew and then I will pick out several nannies from which you can choose the one perfect for your household."

"Gretchen." Maura spoke up. "It isn't Mrs. Isles. It's Detective Rizzoli."

"My apologies, Detective." Gretchen said to Jane.

Jane shrugged, a soft smirk on her lips. "I kinda liked the Mrs. Isles thing, but don't tell anyone."

That evening Jane and Maura talked about this new development and Jane agreed to try Gretchen and this foreign agency. Of course while Maura had been in the shower she'd called Korsak who used his international contacts to get the real grit on this place and it's people. When he got back to her even he sounded impressed. Employment was exclusive and elite. Each person was put through rigorous background checks, financial checks, and even health checks. They were licensed, bonded, and many of them specially educated for this kind of work.

"So what did Vince say?" Maura asked as she climbed into bed.

Jane looked up, a bit of surprise in her eyes.

Maura laughed. "I knew you'd run a check. I'm glad you did. This is about our son's safety and well-being, Jane. I love Gretchen but that doesn't mean I'm going to let my guard down and blindly trust whomever she sends."

Jane smirked, "I thought most of you upper crusters called your help by their last names."

"Yes, normally that's true." Maura said, use to Jane's little digs about her social standing. "But I could never say her last name correctly. It always came out inappropriately."

Jane thought about that for a moment and then muffled a laugh so she wouldn't wake the baby. "You called her Miss. Fucks?"

Maura blushed deeply and nodded.

By the end of the week they were meeting with three potential nannies. They would have all fit but Jane and Maura clicked instantly with a young woman from Montréal who spoke French, both the Canadian and the France dialects, Spanish, and Italian. She came from a family with two sisters and a brother, her education was European based, her area of study had been language and child development, and she thought Bass was the coolest pet ever. She wasn't artistic but that didn't keep her from having fun with art and music. She was athletic, agreed with Maura when it came to football and American football, and shared Jane's loathing of all things Yankee. Simply put Zoey was prefect, but that didn't keep Jane from keeping close tabs on things after she'd gone back to work.

"Did you set up a nanny cam?" Frost asked as he watched Jane's screen over her shoulder.

"Yes." Jane said as she watched Zoey with Matthew while Maura was taking a bath.

"Does Maura know?" Frost asked.

Jane shook her head.

Frost laughed. "You're in so much hot water when she finds out."

Of course Maura knew her wife well and when Jane got home she asked how video surveillance of their living room went.

"Fine." Jane answered with a pout.

"It's a little creepy Jane." Maura told her wife.

"It's just until we're sure." Jane replied.

"I'm not fooling around with you in this room until it's gone." Maura warned her wife.

Jane smirked. "We have lots of other rooms."


	9. Chapter 9

Everything Matthew did was written into his book, the beautiful leather bound journal of his life that his mother had started before he was born. Each month his growth was charted. Each new milestone caught on camera and added to the book. Maura's entries could sound a little clinical, "Age two months and seven days. Matthew held his head up at almost a forty-five degree angle for several seconds." But most of them were very sweet. "Matthew almost slept for a full night. He reminds me of his Mama in his sleep, so peaceful and yet you just kind of know his dreams are wild and wonderful." Jane's entries tended to be more light hearted and fun. "Matthew projectile vomited breast milk all over his Uncle Tommy. I laughed my ass off. Good job buddy!" Which was then followed by Maura's corrective entry, "Jane! Language!" When he was older and reading this book Matthew would definitely get a since of who his mothers were when they were younger, that's for sure. He would even see his Mama's softer side. "Matty's three months and babbling up a storm, just like his Mommy, I wonder what a three month old Google speaks? Who knows? All I know is he's as sweet and beautiful and smart as his Mommy and I love them both more and more each day."

"Janie." Frankie complained from the couch. His sister was standing on the other side of the coffee table with a camera. "You're blockin' the tv."

"You're not missing anything." Janie said. "It's a commercial."

Ten-month-old Matthew was sitting between his uncles on the sofa while his Nonna and Mommy made Sunday dinner in the kitchen. He had a little green bowl of cheerios on his lap and a bottle of breast milk in his hand. Tommy and Frankie had bowls of chips and beer. The scene was too cute not to take a picture. The look on his little face was pure concentration as he carefully picked up a piece of cereal and navigated it towards his mouth. The look reminded Jane of Maura and that made her smile. After snapping the picture she set the digital camera back on the coffee table, out of reach of little hands of course, where it stayed for moments just like this. Then she took the bowl and bottle and handed them to Tommy before scooping her son up, causing him to giggle, and taking his seat on the couch. With Matthew on her lap she gave him his bottle back while holding the bowl for him. Matthew picked up a handful of cheerios, leaned way back on her arm, and tried to shove them into his Mama's mouth.

From the kitchen Maura watched her wife and their son and couldn't stop smiling. Jane was amazing with Matthew and as he became more and more active she became more and more comfortable and confident in her role. She'd worried, and she knew Jane had too, about the mother child bond and if it would be different somehow, but it wasn't. Matthew was as much Jane's son as he was hers. Jane was as close to him as she was. Not only did this give Maura new respect for Jane but for her own mother as well. It was simply breathtakingly beautiful to watch a mother love her child, and then to see that child return that love so purely.

"Maura honey." Angela said with a touch of amusement in her voice.

"Hmm?" Maura replied.

Angela chuckled. "You're rice is burning."

Maura snapped out of her reverie and looked down at the rice she'd been stirring. "Oh shoot!"

At a year old Matthew was right on target with his development, which they were all well aware of because Matthew had become Maura's favorite subject while telling people her fun facts. While sitting in the café with Angela waiting on Jane to get off shift, Maura was telling the boy's grandmother all about their afternoon playing with container toy. Matthew had giggled and bounced as Maura praised him for taking the toy bugs out of the container and then putting them back in. Both women were chuckling softly when Matthew started poking Maura in the cheek while saying, "Mommee, mommee, mommee."

"Yes Matthew?" Maura said as she gently gabbed his poking little hand in her own. Then she paused, her eyes went wide, and she gasped softly. "Did you just say Mommy?"

Matthew laughed and clapped his hands as if it were his mother making the break threw. "Mommee!"

"Oh my gosh! You did! You just said Mommy!" Maura said as she cuddled her son close and kissed his little face.

Not wanting to leave his Mama out, that night as Jane was changing his diaper Matthew let out a giggling, "Mama!" Right before peeing a steady stream into the air, which Jane barely noticed as she gapped at her pleased with himself looking son. "Maura! He's talking!"

Maura came into the room moments later. "Did he say Mommy again?"

Jane shook her head and before she could say a word Matthew started a back and forth of, "Mommee. Ma. Mommee. Ma. Mommee. Ma." As if that were his knew favorite song.

After that the words came quickly. Matthew pointed to Jo Friday and called out Jo. It took a little longer for him to get Bass, the first few real tries all came out ass. Both of their pets had been more then a little leery when Matthew had first come home. While she'd been pregnant Jo had become very protective of Maura, even growling softly at Jane when she felt Maura needed to be left alone. But once Matthew was home she wasn't really sure what to make of him. Just before they'd brought him home Jane had smuggled one of the blankets Matthew had been swaddled in home and put it in Jo's bed so she'd get use to his scent. When he did come home they very carefully introduced him to Jo, letting her sniff him and get use to him. Slowly she came around. Jo got use to Matthew getting more of the attention and she even started to become protective of this new little human. But now they were on rocky terms again. Jo Friday was not prepared for the menace that was Matthew in his blue GT activity walker. Bass wasn't a fan of a mobile Matthew either. The baby's crying, screaming and high-pitched noises made Bass nervous and for the few weeks he didn't venture out of the sunroom. Maura sat with him, hand feed him, made sure he adjusted to having the baby around and he was. But then Jane came home with the baby car and now they were back at square one with both of their pets.

"Alright buddy." Jane said as she set Matthew down on his play rug and handed him a stuffed penguin. "You play with Tango while I put dinner on. Mommy had to drive out to Western Mass to meet with nasty old Dr. Pike, which means she's going to be grumpy when she comes home. So we're going to make her something special for dinner."

Once Jane had the eggplant parmesan in the oven she went back to the living room to play with Matthew only to find it empty. Her heart stopped. "Matty?" She called out as she scanned the room. She'd only taken her eyes off him for a second but that's all it took for him to crawl off, or at least she thought he'd crawled off. "Matthew where did you go?" She called out as she went towards the hallway leading to the bedrooms. Jane's eyes went wide as she watched in wonder as Matthew walked towards Maura who was standing by the front door.

"Jane." Maura said softly, worried that if she raised her voice it might startle Matthew. "Matthew's walking."

Jane let out a laugh as she nodded. "I can see that."

Maura dropped her stuff, crouched down, and opened her arms. Matthew walked right to her and she scooped him up and kissed his face. "Oh what a wonderful thing to come home too!"

Matthew snuggled close, tucking his little face into his Mommy's neck. Then he pulled back and said, "Hi."

Maura laughed. "Hi."

Having a child in the house changes everything. At first it was the medically advised six weeks of celibacy that lead to the lack of sex Maura and Jane were having. Then it was the insane schedule of taking care of a newborn. Then it was working all day and then taking care of Matthew that lead to them falling into bed at night to tired and worn out to do much more then cuddle. They tried; there was soft caressing, lots of kissing, and messaging but no sex. It took awhile for Maura to get back to wanting to have sex, and Jane was more then willing to be patient, but it was finally starting to get to both of them. It had been a year before Maura was finally feeling sexual again and Jane had never really lost her desire, she was just too tired to give it a second thought.

"What's this?" Jane asked when Maura showed her a printed confirmation.

"Reservations for this weekend at the Boston Harbor Hotel." Maura said as she slipped onto the stool across from Jane. "We have a dinner reservation for Friday night, spa appointments on Saturday, and an Admiral's suite for the weekend."

"It sounds wonderful, Maur, but what about…" Jane began but was cut off.

"Your mother can watch Matthew." Maura said quickly. "And we're a quick drive away. If the baby withdraws are bad enough she can bring him to us or we can go home or meet somewhere half way to get a fix."

Jane laughed. "You talk about our son like he's a drug."

Maura launched into an explanation about why babies have the effect they do on their caregivers and mothers, but then stopped, smirked, and simply said, "He is rather addictive." Then she gave Jane her best pouty look. "Please Jane? We really need this. I miss you."

"Ok, I'm in." Jane said with a nod. She missed being with Maura too and they really did need this. They needed time and space to be a couple again.

So that Friday after taking an hour to say goodbye to their son they headed to the hotel. They made it all the way down the street and around the corner before Maura's eyes began to water and her lips began to tremble. She tried to hide it from Jane but Jane knew better. She might not be getting teary but it was killing her to leave Matthew too. "We can go back."

Maura shook her head. "We need this time together, Jane. I'll be all right."

After checking in and having a look around their suite, complete with a small patio, king sized bed, and huge shower and Jacuzzi, Jane and Maura showered and changed. For the first time in well over a year they were in clothes that weren't job related or baby friendly. Maura was wearing a beautiful strapless blue dress and what Jane called her fuck me heels. Her hair was curled and pinned up, and her make-up was perfect. As soon as Jane laid eyes on her wife she licked her lips. "You look beautiful baby."

"Thank you." Maura said as she moved into Jane's open arms. "You looking pretty amazing yourself."

Jane was in an olive green one-shoulder cocktail dress with heels, her shoes had become a lot more upscale since marrying Maura. Her hair was flat-ironed straight and like her wife her make-up was perfect. Pulling Maura close she kissed her softly, but hungrily. "Lets go down to dinner before we end up messing up the last hour's worth of work getting ready."

Maura gave a gentle nod and knowing smirk.

Normally Jane wasn't the caviar topped northeast oysters on a bed of micro greens or the cabernet braised boneless short ribs with chantennay carrots, black kale, and creamy polenta type of girl but this weekend was all about being adults. It was about being a married couple on a romantic date in a fancy restaurant with a luxury hotel suite waiting on them. Jane was all about Maura this weekend, so much so that she didn't even blink when Maura ordered a rabbit dish to start followed by a duck main course. She did however crack a joke; she wouldn't be Jane if she didn't. "Really? Bugs and Daffy in the same meal?"

"You rather enjoyed both while we were in London." Maura reminded her wife.

"Yeah, well, Dotty played dirty by not telling me I was eating roasted Thumper." Jane teased back.

Maura chuckled softly. It felt wonderful to be out with Jane, to be a couple, to get back to the way things were before they were mothers. There was guilt of course; that lingering mother's guilt that started when Maura went back to work and had never really gone away.

After dinner and a dessert plate of fancy chocolate things Jane and Maura went for a walk along the harbor. It was a nice night but there was just enough of a chill in the air that Maura walked close to Jane, which made Jane smile as she held her wife around the waist. Boston was sparkling as he lights from the buildings and the light from the stars and moon reflected off the calm as glass water. It was beautiful. Jane suddenly stopped and turned towards Maura while pulling the honey blonde close and then kissed her. Maura was startled by the kiss at first but after a second or two she easily melted into it and returned it with just as much heat as Jane.

On their way back to the hotel Jane got a text from Angela, a picture of Matthew and a message that said he was fine and down for the night. That helped both mothers relax. Once they were in their suite Jane put the do not disturb on the door and made sure it was locked before following Maura into the bedroom. Her wife was pouring sparkling wine into two glasses. Wine was not what Jane wanted. The taller woman stepped up behind her wife and wrapped her arm around Maura's middle as she dipped her head to kiss her neck after moving her hair out of the way. Maura closed her pretty hazel eyes and sighed softly at the warmth of Jane's lips and breath on her skin.

Turning in her wife's arms Maura captured Jane's lips in a searing kiss and then softly demanded, "Unzip me."

Jane smirked. "I love it when you say that."

It was like their first time all over again. Having a baby changed a woman's body and they were both aware of that so they took things slowly, they were gentle and eased into things. But slow and gentle only lasted so long for a couple that enjoyed a rather vigorous sex life before the baby. By the time their bodies forced them into sleep Jane and Maura both felt reconnected in those most inmate of ways, physical, mental, spiritual. It was just what they'd both needed. Jane was in such a good mood the following morning she didn't even complain about going to the spa. She smiled through her heated stone massage, hummed a happy little turn while she was wrapped up like an ear of corn in tin foil and made to stand under a waterfall to wash away whatever the wrap had done. She watched hungrily as Maura was rubbed down with some kind of pomegranate scrub before scented raindrops washed the scrub away. Jane even let Maura talk her into dipping her hands and feet into hot wax before getting her nails done while her face was slathered with goop.

After dinner at the hotel's seafood grill, another wonderful night in bed, and brunch in their suite the next morning Jane and Maura headed home. When he heard someone at the door Matthew wiggled his way off the couch and took a few steps closer to the door to see who it was. When his mothers walking in he lit up and so did they. Maura got to him first and swept him up into her arms and kissed his little face all over, making the boy giggle. Matthew wrapped his arms around his Mommy and pressed his little face into her neck. Maura could fell his whole little body relax as he gave a soft little sigh. She smiled brightly and hugged him a little tighter. "I missed you too mon petite coeur." She nuzzled is little cheek before kissing it. "Je t'aime mon fils."

"Alright stop hogging the baby." Jane said with a teasing smile as she walked over to her wife and son. It took a moment but Maura did hand Matthew over to his Mama. "Hey buddy." Jane said as she kissed his cheek. "Miss us?"

Jane's good mood carried over into the next day. She and Maura both were just a little to perky at the new crime scene but no one said anything because it was always good to see the girls so happy. When they got back to the office Jane stopped with Korsak and Frost for coffee while Maura went down to start on the body. While she waited she checked in with their nanny, Zoey, who was taking Matthew to a baby workout class at the baby gym.

"A baby gym?" Korsak asked as they rode up in the elevator.

Jane nodded. "They have three kinds of classes for babies from four months to three years. Get Moving, Brain Boost, and Citizen Kid." She explained each class and how they grouped the kids as bugs, birds, beasts and super beasts, Matthew was in the middle of the last two.

Korsak just shook his head. "When Josh was a baby we just set him on the floor with some blocks."

"And when you were a kid they just set you on the ground with rocks and sticks." Frost teased.

Jane was laughing as they made their way towards the door of the bullpen but then stopped suddenly, her eyes wide with fear as she hide against the wall. She looked at her partners with a look close to pure terror. "What is she doing here?" She hissed.

"Who?" Korsak asked and then peeked into the bullpen. "Sister Winifred?"

Jane's whole body shook as if it were covered in fire ants. "Meanest nun to ever wear a habit." She peered carefully around the corner of the wall and then said, "I'm going to go down and help Maura. Let me know when she's gone."

"She isn't going anywhere." Korsak said carefully.

"What?" Jane asked with a look that made the big man take a step back. "Why?"

"Because I'm here to do the Lord's work." Sister Winifred said, causing Jane to jump a foot up the ground. "Hello Jane."

Jane was sudden seven years old again as she squeaked out a, "Hello Sister Winifred. What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to offer counsel to the families affected by the tragic loss of their loved ones." Winifred replied.

"Really?" Jane said with a mix of shock and horror. "You? Greif counseling? Really?"

Winifred huffed. "Yes, well, I would have preferred Cambridge but Sister Helen Marie got that grant."

"Damn." Jane said before she could stop herself. "I loved Sister Helen."

Winifred huffed again. "Well I see not much has changed with you Miss. Rizzoli."

"Detective Rizzoli." Jane corrected. "Detective Rizzoli-Isles actually."

"So you're married?" Winifred asked.

Jane nodded with a look of pride. "To a doctor, a very successful doctor."

Winifred suddenly frowned a very deep, very unpleased frown. "Isn't the chief medical examiner's name Isles?"

"Yes." Jane said smugly. "Yes it is. Doctor Maura Rizzoli-Isles. Gotta an issue with that Sister?"

Again the cranky old nun huffed. "I always knew you were a deviant."

"Hey!" Korsak snapped. "Now look here lady." Winifred glared but it didn't bother Korsak. He'd met tougher nuns than this one, but none quite so hateful and mean. "You might be here on behalf of the Church but this is a no judgment zone. You can keep your options and feelings to yourself because no one around here is going to let you dump all over Jane and Maura. They have one of the most solid, loving, and real relationships any of us have ever seen. They're marriage is more genuine then most of the straight ones I know, and if you have any doubt about the love and commitment in that home, all you have to do is see how beautiful and happy their son is and you'll understand what a real loving family is meant to be. So if you think you're going to bully Jane or Maura about this you better understand that you'll have to go through all of us to get to them."

Frost, Jane, and Sister Winifred stood there gapping at Korsak until Jane smiled a radiant smile at the man. "Thanks Vince."

Korsak just nodded and then said, "You were heading down to give Doctor Isles a hand right? Why don't you do that while we set Sister Winifred up in a more private area, away from the masses that might hurt her sensitivities?"

"Ok." Jane said, still smirking. Turning to her old teacher she said, "It was nice seeing you again Sister. Good day."

Down in her labs Maura was working while Jane told her what had gone on upstairs. "That's a very odd phobia to have Jane."

"You wouldn't be saying that if you were catholic." Jane said with a shiver. "You know how you react to lying and guessing? That's me reacting to certain nuns." She shuddered. "Worse then clowns and you know how I feel about clowns."

"Oh!" Maura said suddenly as she looked up at her wife with a huge hopeful smile. "Do you think Matthew is to little to enjoy the circus?"

"Yes, Maura, he's to little to be traumatized by the circus." Jane said with a soft chuckle.

Maura pouted. "Oh shoot. The circus is coming to town and I really wanted to take him."

Jane loved the look in Maura's eyes. That hopeful innocence and wonder that flooded those beautiful orbs whenever Maura started thinking about all the wonderful things they would do with their son. "Wait until he's about five. The wonderment in his little face will be worth the wait."

"Will you come with us?" Maura asked with a loving smile. "I promise I'll protect you from all the big bad scary clowns."

Jane laughed. "Of course I'll go with you. I'm not missing a second of anything."


	10. Chapter 10

The Rizzoli-Isles house was quickly on it's way to becoming Shining Time Station as Jane, Maura, Angela, and just about everyone else in the family was getting ready for Matthew's third birthday party. Matthew loved trains, and when his Mama had asked him what kind of party he wanted for his birthday the answered was Thomas the Tank Engine. So Jane spent two weeks gathering every Thomas themed birthday party item she could fine. There were Thomas the Tank Engine streamers going from the lights to the corners of the living room and from one wall to the other over the kitchen bar. There was a personalized Thomas banner over the entryway that read Happy 3rd Birthday Matthew! The plates, in two different sizes, the cups, the napkins, the plastic forks and spoons were all Thomas. The loot bags, which were draw string bags, had a Thomas water bottle, Thomas stickers, flash cards, and Thomas crayons, mini bottles of bubbles, and a lanyard. There were Thomas the Tank Engine balloons and games, DVDs, and even the cupcakes had little Thomas and Friends decorations.

"Do you think we went over board?" Jane asked as she looked at their living room and kitchen. Frankie, Frost and Tommy were still hanging streamers and balloons while Constance and Angela were patiently waiting for Matthew to wake up from his nap so they could get him dressed. "I mean we're only having like five kids over."

"Plus their parents and our families." Maura said as she put the number three and three little candles on Matthew's small personal cake, which topped the tower of cupcakes. "And no, I don't think we went over board. Think of it as a dry run for his fifth birthday."

Jane chuckled softly and then gave a little sigh. "I can't believe he's three already. Damn that went by fast."

Maura nodded as she looked at Jane with this adorable look that meant she had something on her mind, but wasn't sure how to bring it up.

It was the way her wife was biting her bottom lip that made Jane asked, "What?"

"Jane." Maura said softly. "I've been doing a lot of thinking lately and well I think it's time we start talking about having another baby."

"You want to have another baby?" Jane asked with wide eyes.

Maura nodded. "I want Matthew to grow up with a sibling. I want him to have what you had. I want him to be close to someone the way you are with your brothers."

Jane thought it over for a moment. They'd been so blessed with Matthew, so happy with him in their lives, she hadn't really given any thought to more kids. Now that Maura had planted the seed though, "Ok, yeah, lets talk about it."

"Oh Jane!" Maura said with pure happiness as she threw her arms around her wife's neck.

Over the last three years Maura had gotten to know her birth mother and they'd formed a pretty solid relationship. Hope made it very clear that she wouldn't ever try to reclaim that primary roll in Maura's life that rightfully belonged to Constance. Constance was her mother, and Hope was happy with just being a close friend. People knew that Hope was Maura's birth mother, but no one ever talked about who her birth father might have been. Paddy had done well keeping his connection to Hope secret, all anyone ever knew was that he'd fallen for a college girl and that she and their baby had died in child birth. Hope hadn't known that until that evening in London when Paddy came to talk to her. He'd wanted to clear the air, to let her know how important it was to keep him away from Maura's life and her own. Now he needed to be the one who was as good as dead so they could both be safe. Of course that didn't stop him from sending things anonymously to his grandson, which really bothered Maura, and yet gave her this odd sense of connection to him that she couldn't quite give up despite how she felt about him.

Since meeting Hope and getting to know her, Maura also got to meet and get to know her younger sister Caillin. It had been awkward and strange at first. There was an eighteen-year age difference between the half-sisters and Caillin hadn't reacted well to finding out about her mother's secret. It hadn't been that Caillin was judging Hope for what she'd done in her youth, or for willingly giving up her own child, it was that she'd thought they were closer than that and she was hurt that Hope hadn't confided in her. But to her credit she hadn't let her issues with Hope keep her from getting to know Maura, and through Maura her sister-in-law and nephew.

"How's the new job?" Maura asked the younger blonde standing beside her in the kitchen.

Caillin smiled as she accepted the drink Maura had made her. "It's great, it's a huge headache sometimes, but it's hard to have a job in New York and not run into people you want to drown in the Hudson."

"And the young man you were seeing?" Maura asked with a soft smile.

"One of the people I want to drown in the Hudson." Caillin answered with a chuckle that sounded a lot like Maura's. Both girls favored their mother and it was easy to tell they were sisters. Maura found it oddly comforting to see herself in these women, to know there was a biological connection between them.

They got to talk for a few more minutes before the birthday boy dressed in his khaki pants and red Thomas long sleeve shirt came running over to them. "Mommy." Matthew said as he tugged on the leg of Maura's Joie 'Kamilla' silk jumpsuit. "Presents now? Pretty please?"

Maura smiled down at her son, brushing her fingers through his toddler fine blonde hair. "Soon."

"How soon?" Matthew asked as he batted his pretty green eyes at her, a trick Jane would be more then happy to point out, he learned from her.

"After we have cake." Maura answered. Since she was the one who'd taught him that little trick it was much less effective on her then it was on Jane, who Matthew had wrapped around his little pinky finger. Though they both played the part of disciplinarian, if one was going to crack first and given in to their son it was more often times Jane. At least for now, Maura had a feeling that as he got older Jane would be less of a push over.

Matthew's face lit up the same way Jane's did at the mention of cake. "We have cake now?"

Maura laughed as she picked him up, set him on her hip, and ticked his tummy. "We have to eat lunch first mon petite canard."

Matthew giggled. "I'm not a little duck!"

"You're not?" Maura asked with a playful gasp. "Then what are you?"

"Mon petite coeur." Matthew answered.

Maura beamed. "And what does that mean?"

"I'm your little heart." Matthew said proudly.

"Je t'aime mon cheri." Maura said as her son nuzzled his little face against her neck.

"Je t'aime Maman." Matthew replied.

Caillin looked impressed. "He speaks French?"

Maura beamed with a mother's pride. "And a little bit of Italian."

"Not the bad words." Matthew told his aunt while resting his head on his Mommy's shoulder. "Even if it makes Mama laugh."

"Mama shouldn't be teaching you those words." Maura huffed.

Matthew shook his head. "I not learn dem from Mama. I learned dem from Nonna!"

While Matthew and his playgroup friends made a mess out of their rigatoni lunch Maura and Jane visited a little more with their guests. They talked to the other parents, chatting and laughed with Korsak and Frost, enjoyed a nice chat with Hope and then made their way over to check on Tommy and Bridget. The two weren't married yet, but they were living together, and they just recently found out Bridge was pregnant.

"She's drivin' us crazy, Janie!" Tommy whined, refereeing of course to Angela. "If it's not when are you getting married, it's when Maura was pregnant she did this and this and that. It's gotta stop. You gotta do something."

"Why do I have to do anything?" Jane asked. "This is your life, you do something. I did it the right way. I got married first and then knocked up my girl."

"Come on Janie!" Tommy begged. "Ma likes you better!"

"No she doesn't." Jane snorted while Frankie laughed. All three of them looked at each other for a long moment before saying in unison, "She likes Maura best." Which made Maura blush almost crimson.

From across the room Angela scolded, "Hey! You three leave Maura alone!"

"See!" The three Rizzoli siblings said and then laughed while Maura continued to blush.

After lunch Maura and Jane led the kids and parents in a few games before announcing it was time for cake and ice cream. By the time the kids were finished Maura was really glad she had her cleaning service on speed dial. There was sticky little handprints everywhere and icing in the oddest places.

"Hey Doc." Frost said as he came out of the hall after using the bathroom. "There's icing on Bass' shell and I don't think he likes it."

"Oh no!" Maura gasped and then ran off to check on her tortoise.

"It's still a little weird that my sister has a pet turtle." Caillin said with a chuckle.

"Tortoise." Half the room corrected in unison.

After getting the kids cleaned up it was time for presents. Matthew needed a fresh outfit after deciding to wipe extra icing from his hands all over his shirt and pants, and Jo Friday. So while Maura changed him, Jane cleaned off the dog, and Constance set Matthew's little chair next to the present table so he could be the main attraction while he opened his mountain of gifts.

This year was the first year that Matthew really understood the idea of presents. His first birthday it was all about clinging to one of this mothers because he was uncomfortable with all the people, though it had only been family. Last year he was a little more into the party but totally fascinated by the wrapping paper more then the gifts. This year he wanted to stop and play with each new thing before moving on to the next, unless it was clothes, then he just tossed them to his Mommy and moved on. Just more evidence that he was Jane's son; Matthew had no interest at all in clothes. His favorite presents were the Lionel pedal train his mothers got him, the FAO my first golf set from his Grandma Hope, the huge floor puzzle from Nana, and the massive lego set from his Nonna. Clearly grandmas gave the best gifts, and Matthew was lucky because he had three. He really liked that his Mommy had two mommies just like him, and he liked telling people that too, he would tell anyone who listened that Constance was his Mommy's Mummy, and that Hope was her Mom, and that Angela was Ma.

"Did you have a good day Matty?" Maura asked that evening as she knelt beside the bath while Matthew splashed and played with his army of rubber ducks.

Matthew nodded his head. "I like birfdays."

"They are special and fun aren't they?" Maura said as she carefully washed and rinsed his hair.

"Can I have one tomorrow?" Matthew asked.

Maura chuckled. "You'll have another one next year. That's what makes them special."

After he was dressed in his favorite monkey pajamas Maura sent her little boy over to the bookcase to pick out a story while she waited for him in the chair by the window. He came back with Llama Llama Time to Share.

"No Paddington Bear tonight?" Maura asked as she helped Matthew climb into her lap.

Matthew shook his head. "Gramps read Paddington tomorrow."

"Oh I see." Maura said with a loving smile. Paddington Bear was something special between her father and her son, just like it use to be between her father and her. He read those stories to her when she was Matthew's age. She even had an old Paddington Bear teddy bear, which now sat on the top shelf of Matthew's bookcase. Matthew's Paddington stood guard on his nightstand since his favorite cuddle toy turned out to be the super soft koala Hope had given him as a baby. As soon as he was snuggled in close Maura opened the book and began to read. Since he'd had such an exciting day he was sound asleep by the time she finished. She set the book aside and then carried her son over to his big boy bed and tucked him. She kissed his head and whispered, "I love you, Matty, sweet dreams."

"I think I got most of it." Jane said when Maura rejoined her in the living room. While Maura was getting Matthew ready for bed she'd been cleaning up the remnants of the party. She'd gotten most of it, there was a black garbage bag full of streamers, banners, and used paper plates by the back door.

"Mrs. Gregory will handle the rest tomorrow." Maura said as she walked over and took Jane's hand. "Lets get ready for bed."

"Ok." Jane said soft. "Let me take the trash out and I'll join you in the shower."

Maura smiled. "I like the sound of that."

After they shower, which wasn't totally about washing away the long day, Jane and Maura climbed into bed with tired but content sighs. Maura moved easily into Jane's arms, resting her head on Jane's chest. They laid there in the peaceful darkness of their bedroom for several minutes before Jane said, "Do you really want to have another baby?"

"Yes." Maura answered, her voice just as soft as Jane's.

Jane was quiet for a moment before saying; "There are more risks this time."

"I know." Maura said as she lifted her head so she could look at Jane. "I'm over forty now. I know there are added risks for me and the baby, but I'm willing to gamble on the odds."

"You went through so much last time." Jane said as she brushed at Maura's hair while looking into her eyes. Ever since Maura had brought it up Jane had been thinking about it, and she really did like the idea of having another baby, of giving Matthew a sibling, but she just couldn't shake the concern she felt about going through all those hoops again. She wondered if either of them were strong enough to go through all of that again.

"And Matthew was worth it." Maura said, her eyes bright with confidence and honesty. She knew the risks, the issues, the likely hood of success, but she wanted this. She wanted another baby as badly as she'd wanted the first. "Any child we have together would be worth anything I go through."

"It doesn't bother you that I just assumed it would be you going through it?" Jane asked, after a long moment of thought.

Maura smiled knowingly at her wife. "Do you want to be pregnant Jane?"

"No." Jane answered honestly.

"Then it really wasn't an assumption." Maura said. "I loved being pregnant, Jane, and you, well, honestly, you would be miserable being pregnant."

Jane smiled as she remembered what it was like, how amazing a pregnant Maura had been, and said, "You were extra beautiful when you were pregnant." She pulled Maura towards her so she could kiss her. Then when Maura was settled onto her chest again she asked, "You don't think it's selfish of me? That there's something wrong with me because I don't feel the need to physically have our next baby?"

"Of course not, Jane." Maura replied. "You're an amazing mother to Matthew and you'll be just as amazing to any child we have, no matter how we have it. Besides, I think I'd worry myself sick over you and the baby if you carried it. You're job is lot more stressful then mine and you're older."

"Only by a year!" Jane protested. "Are you calling me old?"

"I said older, not old." Maura said with a play smirk.

"I'll show you old." Jane said as she easily flipped them so Maura was lying under her. The decision had been made. They would have another child. Another perfect little human being that would be just as amazing as their older brother, and bring them just as much joy and happiness. Jane smiled, a huge brilliant smile. "I love you." She told her wife before leaning down and capturing Maura's lips in a searing kiss.

Maura said her I love you back once she'd refilled her lungs with air.

Hours later as their sweaty bodies cooled from a breeze coming through the open widnow Jane pulled Maura close. "Maura?"

"Hmm?" Maura replied, already drifting off.

"Promise me that you won't put yourself at risk if getting pregnant is harder this time." Jane said softly. "Matty and I can't loose you."

Maura turned onto her side so she was face to face with her wife. "I promise, Jane. You're not going to loose me. We have a child to raise, we have plans, hopes and dreams, a whole life to live together. We're going to grow old together, I promise."


	11. Chapter 11

Getting pregnant hadn't been an issue this time, much to everyone's surprise. Maura went through the hormone treatments again, her doses a little higher this time. Her mood swings were a little more erratic. She cried at the drop of hat, or a misspoken word. Jane couldn't even tease her wife because she didn't know if Maura would laugh or break down into a sobbing mess. Poor Matthew didn't know what to make of his Mommy's emotional roller coaster, and for some reason he was blaming Jane for it. He would often demand Jane fix his Mommy as if she were the one who'd broken her. They tried to explain that it was the medicine Mommy was taking, but Maura didn't want to tell him what the medicine was for. They didn't want to start talking about babies around him until they were more certain there would be a baby. Maura didn't want to get his hopes up only to dash them if this didn't work out. It would be hard enough on her and Jane, dealing with the let downs of each failed attempt; they couldn't involve Matthew in that.

While Maura did her part, preparing to have her eggs harvested, Jane did hers. She contacted Milo who agreed to once again be their donor. Though he wasn't a part of Matthew's life, Matthew knew that Milo helped his mommies have him, and they sent Milo a yearly picture. Maura had brought up the idea of using Jane's egg, but Jane wanted the kids to be whole siblings, it was important to her. Though she did cover up her seriousness by adding, "And what give some poor kid the genetics for a unibrow? I couldn't do that to our kid."

Once everything was in place they began the IVF process. Maybe it was because they weren't as stressed as they'd been the first time, or maybe they were just a little more lucky, but after one failed attempt Maura found herself pregnant following their second IVF. Again they played things close to the chest until they were sure Maura and the baby were safe, and then they started letting people know. Of course the first person they told was Matthew.

It was a sunny winter Sunday and Matthew was feeling very special because he was sitting on his mommies' bed munching on a donut while they watched an episode of Jake and the Neverland Pirates. Snuggling in the big bed and watching a show on a quiet morning wasn't anything new, they did that all the time, but the donut made it special, at least for Matthew. He didn't know it was special for his mommies for a whole other reason. After the show ended Maura turned the television off while Jane said, "Hey buddy, Mommy and I wanna talk to you about something."

When Matthew looked up at them Maura smiled brightly as she said, "Matty, you're going to be a big brother."

"I am?" Matthew asked as he looked between his moms.

Jane nodded. "Mommy's going to have a baby."

Matthew blinked his deep green eyes as he looked between his mothers and then said, "Ok. Can I have another donut please?"

"Sure buddy." Jane said as she gave him the other half of his donut. Then she looked at Maura with a look that asked, what was that?

"He's not quite four yet Jane." Maura said softly. "He doesn't really understand the concept yet. He'll ask questions along the way and as we get closer to the baby coming things will seem more real to him. Right now in this moment this doesn't really have an active effect on his life."

The next day Jane went to Barnes and Nobel and picked up Arthur's New Baby, I'm a Big Brother; Big Brothers are the Best, Mr. Big Brother, Big Brother Piggley, and several other books that they could read to Matthew to help ease him into the change that was about to happen to their family.

Of course Angela, Constance, Hope and everyone else had much more excited reactions. Having another grandchild had even over shadowed Angela's happiness that Frankie had finally found a steady girlfriend. "It's all about the babies." Frankie said with a shake of his head and playful pout.

"Damn right." Angela said with a firm nod. "You're falling behind Frankie. You and Nicola need to get on the ball."

"Gees, Ma." Frankie whined. "Ain't you ever happy? You got two grandsons and another grandbaby on the way. Don't I get a little time here?"

"Nope." Angela answered. "I'm not getting any younger and I want to be able to enjoy my grandchildren." Just before Christmas Tommy and his girlfriend had given Angela her second grandson, Thomas Angelo Rizzoli Junior. She was still on a baby high from that, and now with this news, she might not ever come back down to earth.

Constance was just as thrilled as Angela. Though she and Maura's father still traveled most of the year, they did come to visit often and even kept a condo in Boston. Jane knew that Constance kept a home here because she really did want to be closer to her daughter, and her grandson, but she also thought that a small part of why Constance kept the condo was because Hope lived here. The two women liked each other, they'd even become friends, but from time to time they acted almost like divorced parents when it came to Maura. And Maura, well, she secretly kind of liked all the maternal attention she got from it.

Sure enough as the pregnancy went along Matthew started asking questions and taking more of an interest in what was happening. Maura showed him a picture of his sonogram while she tried to explain how and why the baby was in her tummy. Matthew argued that babies were made in the clouds and brought by storks, because he'd seen it in a cartoon he'd watched with his Uncle Frankie. When he asked when the baby would come, Jane showed him on his Bob the Builder calendar, putting a little sticker on Maura's due date. They even made sure he spent a little extra time with his baby cousin Tommy to get him use to being around babies. Matthew was handling things pretty well, until Maura started having issues, and then it became a little scary for him. Jane and Maura did their best to reassure him, and themselves, that everything would be just fine.

Maura was tired a lot more this time, which was normal for a woman her age who was pregnant and had a small child around. She was much more mindful of her weight gain and stress levels, backing off a little more readily at work far sooner then she had before. The biggest issue came when Maura's doctor informed her and Jane that he was a little concerned about Maura's blood pressure. It wasn't uncommon in older woman, he'd told them, and Maura was in great health, but it was still something he wanted to keep an eye on following an exam where Maura's numbers were a little night. For now he was telling her to avoid as much stress as possible and to get lots of rest.

"Hi sweetheart." Angela said as she walked into her daughters' home.

Jane looked up from the book about high-risk pregnancy she was reading and gave a soft smile. "Hi Ma."

"It's awfully quiet in here." Angela said as she set a platter of cookies on the counter.

"Matty is taking a nap with Maura in our room." Jane said as she watched her mother get a plate and glass from the cabinet. She couldn't help but smile as Angela put four cookies on the plate and then fill the glass with milk before carrying it over to her. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." Angela said as she sat next to her daughter on the sofa. "How's Maura feeling?"

"Tired." Jane answered with a sigh.

"You're worried." Angela said as she watched her little girl take a bite of the cookie she'd picked up.

Jane nodded her answer, though it hadn't been a question but a statement of fact. "Maura says it's natural but how can high blood pressure be natural?"

"She's being very careful, Janie." Angela said. "She isn't going to let anything bad happen to the baby or to herself."

"I know." Jane said before gulping down some milk. "I just wish there was more I could do."

Angela kissed the side of her daughter's head quickly so Jane wouldn't have a chance to protest. "You're doing everything you can, Janie. You're a good wife, a good mother, just keep doing what you're doing."

All the tests the obstetrician ran came back clean and that took a lot of pressure and stress off both Maura and Jane. At sixteen weeks they had their first ultrasound, the room filling with the sound of a strong fetal heartbeat. Of course it left Maura with tears in her eyes, and even Jane was caught blinking really fast for a couple of minutes. Maura started a second book, just like with Matthew's she documented everything. This book had the bonus feature of drawings made by Matthew for his new brother or sister. He wasn't sure which he wanted, but he was warming to the idea of being a big brother like the characters in his books.

Four-year-old Matthew was dressed in his favorite Red Sox polo and jeans, and the new superman flips flops his Nonna had bought him and he refused to take off, as he held tightly to his Mama's hand. It had been decided that since he was going to be the big kid of the house, he should get the bigger bedroom. He didn't realize that his move was mainly to keep the baby closer to his moms' bedroom, which meant moving him into the guestroom. To help ease Matthew into this new arrangement Jane and Maura were helping him decorate his new room. His favorite color was green so Maura picked out two very calm but playful green paint colors and let Matthew choose which one he liked best. Now they were on their way to buy the paint and pick out wall decals, while his uncles cleared out the guest room, moving everything up to the recently renovated guest apartment in the basement. Once Matthew's room was painted and carpeted, they would move his stuff in. The furniture they'd gotten him as baby would grow with him so all they had to add was a desk and chair, and the personalized handmade toy box Maura had ordered.

"Ok buddy," Jane said after putting a couple gallons of paint in the cart. "Lets see what kind of decals they have."

They looked for about ten minutes before Matthew finally decided on Toy Story. Matthew wasn't allowed too much television or to many movies, so a lot of what they had to offer he didn't know anyway. Toy Story was his favorite out of what he was allowed to watch. Picking the Toy Story decals made buying new bedding easy, they picked up two different bedding sets, both Toy Story, and that was that. After a special lunch out, they headed home where both Maura and Matthew crashed for a much needed nap.

As for the nursery it was repainted a medium cream color, the new baby furniture was all a medium dark brown, and all the accents were done in browns, creams, reds, and pandas. Maura couldn't explain it, and Jane didn't argue, all she knew was that they'd gone window-shopping after an OB appointment and Maura had stumbled onto this little boutique that specialized in zen baby stuff and now they had a red fung shui zen panda themed nursery. Though they had more of a theme this time they still added personal details, hand written framed sayings, pictures, posters of Jo and Bass in silk Chinese robes and slippers.

The first night in his completely finished brand new bedroom didn't go so well for Matthew. The room felt odd, it was unfamiliar, so he ended up crawling into his mothers' bed and falling asleep between them. The next night Jane ended up sleeping on the floor of Matthew's room to keep him in bed. It took a full week for the little boy to adjust to his new room, leaving his Mama tired and grouchy with a bad back. This led to bickering between Jane and Maura, who was fully feeling the effects of her pregnancy.

"Aww hell Maura I just want to stay home and relax tonight!" Jane gripped when Maura stopped her from heading to their bedroom to change into lounge pants and a ratty old t-shirt.

"It's the first night of class, Jane." Maura argued back.

"It's for new parents!" Jane replied. "We're not new parents! We've been to the rodeo once already and we did it on our own!"

"It's a requirement for the birthing center, Jane!" Maura spat while glaring at her wife, daring her to take her boots off because if she did she was libel to get a purse upside her head.

Jane snorted. "After the donation your parents made after Matthew was born I don't think they're going to turn you away, Maura."

"Was that a crack about my family's money?" Maura asked, her eyes narrowing.

"It was a statement of fact." Jane replied. Maura glared, but then she swayed a little on her feet, which sent Jane rushing to her. "Are you alright?"

"A little dizzy." Maura admitted softly.

Fuck, Jane mumbled while helping her wife to the couch. "I'm sorry, we shouldn't be fighting; fighting makes your blood pressure spike."

"Red Sox tickets and Fenway tour." Maura said with her eyes closed as she took a few deep breaths.

Jane looked confused. "What?"

"If we don't meet all the requirements the baby won't get the Red Sox package." Maura said, unwilling to give up the fight just because she'd gotten a little dizzy.

"Are you serious?" Jane asked, her dark eyes blinking and wide all at the same time. "You're still trying to win the fight?"

"Yes." Maura said with a smug smile.

"Oh for the love of…" Jane groaned, throwing her hands up in defeat. "Fine, lets go, but are you sure you feel up to it?"

Maura nodded slowly. "Just need a moment to meditate. It's to stressful to argue with you."

That brought a simple, warm smile to Jane's face as she thought back to a moment that seemed so distant now it felt like a different life. Jane thought back to that night in her old apartment and about how it had felt really nice to wake up with Maura in her bed, even if it had been an accidental sleepover. Then again, they had been having wine in her bed, but Jane had chalked that up to how uncomfortable her couch was at the time. Now Jane realized that even back then she slept better when Maura was beside her. When her wife opened her eyes and looked at her she asked, "Feeling better?"

"Yes, much." Maura replied. "But I think it would be a good idea to stop and eat something small before going to class."

Jane nodded. "Let me change out of my suit and we'll go."

"I'll let Zoey know we're leaving." Maura said while Jane helped her to her feet.

Despite doing everything right Maura was still diagnosed with preeclampsia. Jane was scared out of her mind because all she kept thinking about was what she'd read about the condition possibly being fatal. That led to Jane being over protective, which added to Maura's stress levels. Maura finally had to threaten Jane, telling her that if she didn't stop she'd spend the rest of her pregnancy living in a hotel. Jane backed off a little. Maura, who was just as concerned and scared as Jane, relied on medical facts and statistics, reading the latest articles and following a precise regime. She took her leave early, got lots of rest, watched her diet like a hawk, and got just the precise amount of exercise. Her doctor said they might have to induce early, but she was determined to carry their baby as long as it was safely possible for the both of them.

"Mommy?" Matthew said as he looked up from the book Maura was reading him.

"Yes Matty?" Maura replied as she looked down into her son's beautiful eyes.

"When is the baby coming?" Matthew asked as he put his hand on his Mommy's tummy.

"Soon honey." Maura answered. "Are you excited about meeting your new brother or sister?"

Matthew nodded. "I guess so." He replied and then said, "Mommy?"

"Yes baby?" Maura replied.

"Are you going to be ok?" Matthew asked.

Maura was taken aback by the question and fear in her son's eyes. "Oh sweetheart, yes, I'm going to be fine. The baby and I are going to be just fine."

Matthew could see that his mommy was being honest, he knew she couldn't lie, so he relaxed a little as he hugged her around the neck and pressed his face against the warmth of her skin. Maura wrapped her arms around her son and held him tightly. They stayed like that, cuddled close and tight, until Matthew jerked back suddenly with wide eyes.

Maura had a pretty good idea why. "Did you feel that?" Matthew nodded and his mother smiled as she took his hand and put it on her belly. "The baby is playing with you."

It was the weirdest thing he'd ever felt but when the weirdness passed it was totally cool! When Jane got home Matthew ran over to her and said, "Mama guess what!"

"What?" Jane replied as she scooped him up and kissed his cheek.

"Me and the baby made up a game!" Matthew told her.

"You did?" Jane asked with a smile as she walked over to Maura to give her a kiss.

Matthew nodded. "Watch." He said as he wiggled until she set him down.

Jane watched as Matthew put his hand on Maura's belly and then giggled before moving his hand someplace else.

"Apparently it's some kind of tag." Maura explained. "He puts his hand somewhere and the baby kicks it, he moves it, baby kicks it again."

Jane laughed but then asked, "You ok?"

Maura nodded. "I'm fine as long as they stir clear of my bladder. Hopefully Matty will wear the baby out and we can both get some sleep tonight."

"Already being a helpful big brother." Jane said proudly as she pulled their son onto her lap and hugged him tight.


	12. Chapter 12

They'd gotten the call early that morning about a body found on a paintball course. Apparently the teens that worked at the place found it hidden under some debris and spent several minutes kicking it, thinking it was a drunk passed out behind one of the barriers. Jane had just sat down to have breakfast with her wife and son when she'd gotten the call, so she'd spent the better part of the morning on scene bitching about missing out on nutella waffles. She also bitched about having to work with Pike. Her feelings about the old man were apparently very clear to everyone because as she was walking out the door that morning she heard Matthew say, "Mama's gonna be in a bad mood tonight."

"Why do you think so honey?" Maura asked.

"She has to work with Dr. Pike." Matthew said with a soft sigh.

Maura couldn't help but laugh.

Jane was thinking about the sound of that laugh when her phone rang. Despite everything going on, everything they were dealing with because of Maura's condition, Maura was still sweet, adorable, sometimes-dorky Maura and would call Jane through out the day to inform her that Matthew had done this, or she'd just read that. While Jane was stressing over every little thing, Maura was even more zen and relaxed then she normally was. Then again the whole zen thing was part of Maura's keeping her stress level down routine. Snatching her ringing phone off her hip Jane looked at the screen and smiled when she saw Maura's picture and name on the screen. "Hey baby. Everything ok?"

"Hi Mama." Matthew's voice replied.

Jane blinked in surprise and everything inside tightened up, her heart constricted and a knot formed in her stomach. With Maura's preeclampsia every time the phone rang her body took a jolt like someone poked her with a live wire. Hearing her son on the other end of the line made it feel like they were holding the wire in place. "Matty? Hey buddy. What's up?"

"Mama, Mommy's sick and won't wake up." Matthew said over the phone. He was sitting on his mothers' bed next to his Mommy. They'd been playing a game when Maura felt a very sudden and very strong contraction. When Matthew asked is she was ok Maura had said the baby was coming. She'd pulled out her phone to call Jane herself but she'd been feeling dizzy, her head was pounding, then she passed out. "Mommy said the baby's coming."

"Ok, buddy, ok. I'm on my way." Jane said, trying to keep her voice as calm as she could so she wouldn't scare her son. She was already running back to the car, Korsak and Frost got on her heels. "Matty, where's Zoey?"

"Mommy sent her to the store." Matthew answered.

"Stay with Mommy, Matty." Jane said firmly. "I'll be there really soon."

"What's wrong?" Korsak asked. Jane might have kept her voice calm but her eyes showed him she was terrified.

"My wife can't have a drama free labor I swear!" Jane growled in fear. "Get an ambulance to my house now!"

Jane used the siren to get to her house as fast as she could. As she pulled into the driveway she could hear the ambulance a few blocks away. She didn't wait for them, she burst into the house calling out, "Maura! Maura!" She ran to the bedroom and her racing heart stopped. Maura was lying on the bed, out cold and looking pale. Matthew was lying beside her with tears in his eyes. Jane rushed to the bed and quickly lifted her son into her arms while trying to get Maura to respond. "Maura. Maura baby wake up."

A minute or two later Korsak and the paramedics could be heard in the living room and Jane called them back. Matthew had his face pressed against her neck as Jane told the paramedics what they needed to know while they loaded her wife onto a stretcher. "It's ok buddy. You did good, Matty. You did really good calling me." She said soothingly. "I'm so proud of you Matty." She kissed the side of his head. "I need you to keep being a big boy. I need you to stay with Grandpa Vinny while I go with Mommy ok?"

"Wanna go with you." Matthew cried. "Wanna go with Mommy."

"I know." Jane said as she rubbed his back and then shifted him so she could look into his deep green eyes. "But I need you to stay here with Grandpa. I'll keep Mommy and the baby safe. I promise."

Matthew was unsure but then he gave a small nod.

Jane kissed her son and hugged him tight before handing him over to Vince. Then she ran after the paramedics. The ambulance had already gone, so she got back into her car and used the siren to follow. When they got to the hospital Maura was rushed into a trauma room but a nurse stopped Jane before she could follow. "That's my wife!"

"I know Mrs…" The Nurse began.

"Detective." Jane spit out.

"Detective Isles." The nurse said as she put her hand on Jane's arm. Jane didn't bother to correct her on the name. "But you can't go in there, you'll just be in the way. Give them the room they need to help your wife and baby, ok?"

Jane nodded numbly as she watched the action in the room through the slits in the window blinds. It felt like forever before Doctor Lee came out to explain things to her. He said that the preeclampsia had spiked, that the sudden rise in blood pressure brought on by the contractions had caused Maura to pass out, and that sometimes that happened, and the only way to help both mother and child was to deliver the baby now. Jane agreed and Doctor Lee left to prepare for the surgery. A nurse walked Jane up to the OR waiting area and told her that one of the OR nurses would be out to keep her informed. Jane sank into a chair and stared at the double doors that lead back to the operating rooms, one of which contained her wife and their baby.

She wasn't in the waiting room alone for long. Angela came bursting in and quickly wrapped her arms around Jane. Jane tried to explain what was going on but in the end she just ended up breaking down in her mother's arms. "I can't loose them, Ma. I can't loose her."

"You won't Janie." Angela said softly as she held her baby as tightly as she could. "She'll be ok." She whispered. "She'll be ok." Janie wasn't the only one who couldn't bare loosing Maura. Maura was her daughter too, and she had been for a very long time. Once she had Jane calmed down, Angela called Constance and Hope, and then the boys. In no time she had the waiting area full of family.

Jane was both comforted by having them there and annoyed. She was scared and worried and that always led to feeling agitated when anyone tried to help her. She tried really hard not to snap at people, not to bite their heads off every time someone asked if she wanted or needed anything. The only one who wasn't pushing at her was Hope, so she stuck kind of close to her. Plus Hope, like her daughter, google talked and Jane found that comforting. Hope didn't sit there telling her everything was going to be all right when they didn't know if it would be. She explained things medically, she talked in likely hoods and statistics the way Maura did. But even that started to get on Jane's nerves as time passed super slowly for her. She needed a break so she found a private area where she could call and check on Matthew.

Jane was just rejoining the group when Doctor Lee walked through the double doors. As soon as Jane saw him she nearly tackled the moor man. "Maura?"

"Is just fine." Doctor Lee said with a warm reassuring smile. "Once the baby was delivered she stabilized. Maura and your daughter are both just fine, Detective."

Jane felt her knees go weak and would have collapsed if not for her brother. "I have a daughter?"

"A beautiful little girl." Doctor Lee said with a nod. "She's a little early, but not premature since we'd just hit thirty-seven weeks. She is a little stressed out, and she's a little small, so we have her in our NICU. Would you like to see her while we get Maura settled into a room?"

"Yes. Please." Jane said softly. "Dear god yes."

Tucked inside an incubator, swaddled in a little white blanket dotted with pink Red Sox logos, sporting a little pink hat was the most beautiful sight Jane had seen since Matthew had come screaming into the world. She was smaller then her brother had been but she was a girl and she was early, and the nurse said that she would get bigger quickly. She was healthy and strong, and that's what mattered. Jane reached in through one of the holes in the plastic and took the little cap off, a huge smile appearing on her face. The baby's hair was dark, not as dark as Jane's but dark not blonde, and there was a lot of it. No wonder Maura had so much heartburn, she thought as she memorized everything about her daughter. The baby had her eyes closed so Jane couldn't tell what color they were, but she hoped they were like Maura's, or Matthew's. "Hi baby girl." She said softly, her voice cracking with emotion as her fingers lightly caressed her daughter's cheek. "Welcome to the world beautiful."

Jane was so torn. She wanted to stay with the baby but she wanted to be with Maura too. What she ended up doing was spending an hour with both, switching back and forth all night long. When she was with the baby Constance was with Maura, and when she was with Maura, one of the grandmothers was with the baby. It was well into the following morning when Jane heard the first soft moan from Maura's bed. Not even an hour earlier the nurse had brought the baby in, her lungs were strong, there was no sign of jaundice or infection, so the baby had been cleared to leave NICU but was still being closely observed. With their newborn daughter in her arms Jane moved to sit beside her wife and carefully take her hand.

"Jane." Maura said, her voice thick and husky from her drug induced sleep. "Jane, the baby…"

"Is fine, Maura." Jane said proudly, her voice laced with tears as she squeezed Maura's hand gently. "She's perfect."

Maura forced opened heavy eyes and turned her head slightly towards the sound of Jane's voice. "She?"

There were tears in Jane's eyes as she looked into Maura's. "We have a daughter Maura."

Jane held the baby so Maura could see her. It took a lot of effort because her body hadn't completely metabolized the drugs in her system, but Maura reached out to caress her baby's cheek. "She's so beautiful." She whispered and then mumbled something in Italian.

"What?" Jane asked, her eyes a little wide and a tick of a smile playing on her lips. Maura repeated what she said, something about beautiful and light. Jane's heart melted, not only at what Maura said, but because a drugged Maura was just so damn cute. "Maura that's perfect!" The tick turned into a huge smile that lit up Jane's face. "It's absolutely perfect, Maura." She nuzzled the baby's cheek with her nose as she whispered, "Isabella Lucia." Then she looked up and into her wife's eyes again. There was a beautiful gleam in those beautiful hazel eyes. "I love you. You are so amazing."

Maura smiled, "I love you too."

Jane wanted to wait before bringing Matthew to the hospital. She wanted to make sure Maura and Isabella were both strong and stable enough for visitors, but Maura wanted to see her son. She was worried about how everything that had happened would affect him. She knew he had to be really scared, he'd seen her pass out, was left alone with her being unresponsive for what must have been an eternity to a four year old. So despite Jane's protests Angela went home to get Matthew and bring him to his mother.

"Are you sure you're up to this?" Jane asked yet again. "You just woke up from surgery!"

"Jane." Maura said with a soft huff. She was sitting up in bed at an angle that was safe and comfortable given the fact that she'd just had a c-section. Constance had helped her freshen up, and there was color in her cheeks again. Jane thought she was beautiful. "That was six hours ago. I want to see my son. I need to see my son."

Jane grumbled but didn't argue.

When Matthew arrived there was a gentle knock on the door before it was pushed open by Korsak, who let Angela and Matthew walk in before letting the door close gently behind them. He couldn't help but smile at the blonde laying in the hospital bed, though inside it was breaking his heart to see her there. "Where you trying to out do the drama from last time?"

"I assure you Vincent, it wasn't intentional." Maura replied and then looked down at Matthew and smiled. She spoke softly to him in French, asking him to come over to her.

"Easy buddy." Jane said when Matthew tried to launch himself at Maura. "Mommy's got a pretty big boo-boo. We have to be very gentle with her, ok?"

Matthew nodded as Jane carefully placed him on the bed beside his mother. His big green eyes flooded with tears as soon as he looked into his Mommy's eyes. He threw his arms around her and pressed his face to her neck.

"Oh, Matty, honey I'm ok." Maura said gently when she felt her son's body quivering; his tears warm on her neck. "Shhh." She soothed. "I'm so sorry I scared you. I'm very proud of you for calling Mama for help. That was very brave of you mon petite coeur."

It took several minutes of clinging to his Mommy and listening to her reassure him before Matthew relaxed. When he did, when he pulled back from the death grip he on her, he noticed something was different. "Mommy, where's the baby?"

Maura smiled a huge smile and pointed at Jane who was holding Isabella. "Congratulations Matthew. You have a baby sister."

Bright green eyes went wide as Matthew gasped, "I do?"

Jane nodded as she brought the baby closer. "Her name is Isabella."

Matthew looked at the very tiny little baby in his Mama's arms for a several long minutes before saying, "Hi Isabella, it's very nice to meet you."

Maura beamed at her son. She was so happy, her heart so full. All her life she'd longed for this feeling of completeness, of satisfaction and contentment, of being part of something so beautiful and whole; a family. This was her family, her wife, their son, and now their daughter. Maura couldn't keep the tears at bay as she said, "She's happy to finally meet you too."

"How do you know?" Matthew asked as he titled his head to take in the baby, which made him look very much like his Mommy.

"She's smiling." Jane said as she sat on the edge of Maura's bed.

Matthew moved a little closer. He carefully held out his hand and Isabella wrapped her hand around his finger. Matthew's eyes went a little wide before a smile broke on his lips. As carefully as he could he leaned in and kissed his sister on her forehead.

Until Maura Jane had never wanted kids, she'd never wanted to be married, but now, now she couldn't imagine her life without this, without her wife, without their children. "So what do you think buddy?"

"Do I have to share my legos and trains?" Matthew asked.

His mothers laughed and Maura answered, "She's to small to play with your toys, Matty."

"Then I think she's awesome!" Matthew said with a smile, his Mommy's smile. "I'm a big brother! Yay!"

Jane laughed, "He's being talking to your cousin in Seattle again."

"You taught him awesome because Sister Winfried dislikes that word." Maura argued back.

"You can't prove that." Jane said with a smirk.

Maura rolled her eyes and then smiled, "I love you."

"I love you too." Jane said and then carefully leaned in to give her wife a kiss.

"Hey!" Matthew protested. "Don't squish my sister!"

His mothers laughed while Isabella fussed her agreement that being squished would be bad.


	13. Chapter 13

Having a new baby in the house was both exciting and challenging. Jane and Maura were stupidly happy and bone aching tired. Isabella was a little bit of a drama queen. When she wanted something she wanted it now. She wanted nothing to do with waiting or patience. Like they did with Matthew, Maura and Jane didn't jump the instant Isabella began to fuss, though the watched her closely to make sure she wasn't in any real distress. Unlike her brother who would fuss, then whimper, and then ease into a full on cry, Isabella went from fussing to wailing in a matter of seconds. Matthew didn't like his sister very much when she was screaming and demanding their mothers' full attention, but thankfully Isabella wasn't always like that. In between the screaming and demands she was very sweet and as she got a little older, very playful. One of Jane and Maura's favorite sounds was the sound of their children laughing. For some reason Isabella found Bass hysterical. She would watch from her place in one of her mothers' laps as Bass made his slow progression from point A to point B and laugh insanely. After a moment or two of listening to his sister laugh, Matthew would start laughing, and the sound of Matthew laughing made Isabella laugh that much harder.

Maura was working, which was rare on a Saturday but she had to have the yearly budge into the governor's office by Tuesday, so Jane was on full time mommy duty since she had the day off. First order of business was grocery shopping. With Isabella strapped to her chest in a baby bjorn carrier and Matthew's hand holding onto the small shopping cart she had, Jane made her way through Whole Foods. As she reached for Maura's organic milk she told Matthew, "Grab one of your favorite puddings, buddy."

"Ok Mama!" Matthew said as he let go of cart to grab the organic pudding Maura let him have.

While keeping her eye on her son Jane was talking softly to Isabella who was taking everything in with bright, wide eyes. They had almost everything on the list once they were finished in dairy, and had Maura's nut butters; so they headed to the deli and bakery counters for the last few items and Matthew's special treat for being good while Jane had run errands. While she was ordering lunch meat, Matthew had his bright green gaze on a vegan cupcake with a Spider-Man topper. As Jane reached for the pound of salami she'd ordered she was caught off guard by a familiar and unexpected voice.

"Hi Janie." Frank Sr. said a few feet away from his daughter.

Jane turned slowly and blinked in surprise as she took in her father who was standing there with a shopping basket in his hand. She hadn't seen him since he'd come to town looking for an annulment, which Angela never gave him. She hadn't talked to him since she'd tried to call him to tell him about Matthew's birth, but he'd refused to accept Matthew as his grandson so Jane had cut him off all together.

"Pop." Jane said curtly. She knew he was in town. He was there, with his new wife, for Frankie's wedding.

There was a long moment of uneasy silence between them. Matthew picked up on it and moved closer to his Mama, slipping his hand into hers. Frank Sr. looked down at the boy and then at the little girl strapped to his daughter's chest. "Frankie told me Dr. Isles had another child."

Before he could say anything further Jane jumped in, "Maura and I had another child, Pop. This is my daughter, Isabella, and my son Matthew."

"Hello." Matthew said politely to his Mama's father.

Frank Sr. stiffened when Jane said these were her children.

"Frank." Sandie, Frank's new wife said as she came up to him. She looked at the young woman Frank was talking to and knew who she was instantly. "Hello Jane. It's nice to finally meet you."

Jane raised an eyebrow. "Hi." The tension made Isabella fuss. "Shh, it's ok sweetie."

Sandie smiled tightly and tried to break the tension by addressing Matthew. "And who is this handsome young man and beautiful little lady?"

"I'm Matthew Rizzoli-Isles." Matthew answered. "And that's my sister Isabella."

Frank stiffened again. "Rizzoli?"

Jane nodded. "They both have my name, Pop, so does Maura." She could tell this didn't sit well with her father so Jane decided enough was enough. Looking down at her son she asked, "Did you pick your treat?" Matthew nodded and she looked up. "Excuse us."

"Jane." Frank said as Jane turned to walk away.

Jane shook her head. "I need to get my kids home, Pop. Matthew needs a nap before Frankie picks him up this afternoon so they can get their tuxes fitted."

"Are you in the wedding Matthew?" Sandie asked the little boy.

Matthew nodded proudly, his smile a mirrored image of Jane's. "I'm carrying the rings for my Uncle Frankie."

"Come on Matty." Jane said as moved the hand that was patting Isabella's back to the cart handle. "Lets get your treat and get going. Belle needs her nap too."

"Ok Mama." Matthew said as he walked with his Mama to the bakery counter and asked for his cupcake.

When they got home Jane set Matthew up at the table with his cupcake and a glass of milk, put things away, and then took Isabella back to the nursery to change her, feed her a bottle of breast milk, and put her down for a nap. When her brothers showed up to pick up Matthew he was still a little groggy from his own nap and was feeling cuddly, so when Jane answered the door she had her five year old wrapped around her. "Hey buddy, time to get you ready for you guy's afternoon."

After getting Matthew dressed and ready Jane slipped back out into the living room while he was using the bathroom. "I ran into Pop at Whole Foods." Jane said hotly. "You should have seen the way he looked at my kids, the way he looked at me when Matthew introduced himself as a Rizzoli."

Frankie sighed. "I'm sorry Janie."

"I'm gonna be nice to him for you." Jane warned her brother. " Unless he starts in on Maura or my kids and then I can't promise anything."

"I'll talk to him." Frankie said.

Matthew came into the room dressed in his best pair of jeans, a stripped button up, and his favorite pair of sneakers. "I'm ready!"

Jane smiled at her son. "Have a good time buddy and be good." She kissed the top of his head.

When Maura got home she found Jane lying on the floor with their daughter sitting on her chest, her back pressed against Jane's thighs, while did sit ups. Every time Jane sat up she kissed Isabella's nose, which made the little girl with light brown hair, and bright hazel eyes laugh. Maura couldn't help but smile. "Hello my loves."

"Mommy's home!" Jane said excitedly to the baby girl on her chest.

Maura knew her wife well enough to know something was wrong. There was something in Jane's eyes, but she didn't bring it up right away. She smiled as she took her baby girl from her wife's arms and then kissed Isabella's face. She asked Jane how her day was while she cuddled their daughter. All the stress of her workday melted away the moment Maura walked into her home, the moment she was with her family. With Jane sitting beside her and Isabella in her arms government budges and cranky assistants didn't matter. She waited until Isabella was playing alone in her play crib before walking up behind her wife and wrapped her arms around Jane. "Want to talk about it?"

"About what?" Jane asked as she stirred the pot of gravy on the stove.

"Whatever upset you today." Maura said.

Jane sighed. "Pop's in town."

"Oh." Maura said softly. She stepped back and turned Jane so they were face to face. "What happened?" Jane explained everything. "Oh Jane, I'm so sorry."

"He's never going to come around." Jane said with a kind of finality that was just heartbreaking.

"You don't know that, Jane." Maura reassured.

"At this point I really don't care if he does or doesn't." Jane said honestly. "He doesn't have anything to offer that I need. The kids have great grandfathers. Your Dad adores them and Vince is amazing, he's the best Grandpa I could have asked for for them."

"But your father is still your father." Maura said softly. "And you need him wither you think you do or not."

Jane just shrugged. She didn't want to talk about it anymore.

Frankie and Nicola's wedding had been beautiful. It had been at Scared Heart, which had become the Rizzoli family parish since Jane and Maura's wedding, and the ceremony preformed by Father George. Matthew had looked so handsome in his classic black tux. His mothers and grandmother couldn't stop gushing over him. The nonstop fussing had lead to the five-year-old's very first, "Gees Ma! Come on already!" Which had been directed at Jane who'd been messing with his hair for the fifth time.

"You know," Maura said to her wife as they'd walked down the aisle to take their seats. "As soon as we get home that's going in his book."

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Jane said with a roll of her eyes, a proud little smirk still on her lips.

Because the front row had been filled with Angela and Korsak, Jane and Maura, and Tommy and his girlfriend Bridget, Frank Sr. and his wife were relegated to the second row with Frost and his girlfriend. For the first time he realized just how out of touch he was with his kids. He was still their father but not really part of the family. His son, who looked handsome and proud in his dress uniform, shook Vince Korsak's hand before his, and beamed proudly at the old cop's praise. At the wedding reception, with this new vision of life, the life he left behind in Boston, Frank watched his kids carefully. He watched how happy and fulfilled his boys were, and for the first time, he could see just how blissful and satisfied Jane was. She was happy; she had a wonderful life with this woman and this woman's children, and it made Jane glow.

Two days later Jane was standing in Maura's autopsy room watching the blonde put a dead man's liver in her scale bucket when her cell phone buzzed. Her dark eyes widened just a flicker, no one else would have even noticed, but her wife did. "Jane?"

"It's a text from my Pop." Jane said as she raised those chocolate orbs from the screen of her phone to meet the hazel gaze of her wife. "He wants to have coffee before he leaves." She paused a moment to reread the message and then added, "With us."

Maura blinked those pretty hazel eyes. "Us? As in you and I together?"

"Yeah." Jane said in utter shock and uncertainty.

The first ten minutes were painful awkward and uncomfortable, but then Maura had asked Frank how he was, how Sandie was, and how things in Florida were going. Frank told them things were good, he was retired but taught basic plumbing at a trade school. Sandie had been a full time teacher for twenty-five years, but had semi-retired and was now a sub. In return, and with a little non-verbal encouragement from Maura, Jane told her father she was preparing to take the sergeants exam. When he asked Maura how things were going with her she smiled and told him she was working on a couple of journal articles, one of which she was co-authoring with her birth mother. She said she was content in her work as Chief M.E, and even more content as mother to Matthew and Isabella and being a wife to Jane. The three of them sat there through several rounds of coffee and a box of cannoli just talking as if they were strangers getting to know each other, and in a way they were.

Jane wasn't sure the afternoon with her Pop had actually done any good until Isabella got a birthday card from Grandpa Frank. The little card with the little ballerina teddy bear on it had big badass Jane Rizzoli-Isles in tears. There would always be scars, things would never be the way they were between her father and her, but it felt good to have him back in her life even in a small way like holiday cards and emails.

Since the moment Maura told her she was pregnant Jane had been looking forward to this. Getting out of the car she made her way to the back passenger side door and opened it. "Hop out buddy." She said to her son as she held out her hand to him. Matthew was dressed in jeans and a Red Sox jersey with a big number five and Rizzoli-Isles on the back. It was his very first baseball game. With her son's hand held in her own Jane and Matthew walked across the lot and as soon as she saw the redbrick of Fenway she smiled, her heart swelling. "Are you excited?"

"This is gonna be great Mama!" Matthew said as he looked up at her with those dazzling dark green eyes.

They came early to have a look around. Matthew had been given a tour ticket but they were saving that for the next time, when Maura would be with them. Today was all about Jane sharing her own experiences with her son, showing him the ball park she grow up with, showing him the game she'd fallen in love with when she was his age. She took him down Lansdown Street and showed him the backside of the Green Monster. She walked him down Jersey Street to Yawkey Way. They took pictures at the old Gate A ticket booths turned mini-museum. Matthew got his face painted; he played in Wally's World and got his picture, and one with his Mama too, with the big green mascot Wally. They ate a ballpark dinner of Fenway Franks, fries, and soda before making their way to their seats. Jane, sounding a lot like her google mouthed fun fact reciting wife, told her son about the history of the park, about the fires in the twenties and thirties, about the Green Monster and the old left field scoreboard. She told him about the men, Tomas Yawkey, John Pesky, Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Cy Young, Reggie Smith, Wade Boggs, and Mo Vaughn, and the women like Thomas' wife Jean Yawkey. During the game she showed him how to fill out a scorecard while they munched on peanuts and popcorn, and another hot dog each, Maura was going to kill her over all the junk food but it would be worth it.

When they finally got home Jane walked into the house carrying a completely passed out Matthew, a huge smile still lingering on her face. It had been the perfect afternoon and evening with her son, capped off by a Red Sox win.

"Mama." Matthew said sleepily as Jane undressed him and cleaned him up.

"Yeah buddy?" Jane replied.

"Best day ever." He said with a goofy grin that reminded her so much of his Mommy it made her fall in love with him all over again. "Hot dogs are so good! I can't wait to tell Uncle Frankie I ate three! But, shhh, don't tell Mommy."

Maura chuckled softly from the doorway as she rolled her eyes and shook her head. She would remind Jane later that if their son threw up she was cleaning it up all by herself.

"I won't." Jane promised, her own voice laced with a giggle.

"Mama." Matthew said again as he snuggled into his bed once he was clean and dressed.

"Yeah buddy?" Jane replied.

Matthew yawned. "I love you."

Jane's eyes suddenly stun with tears. "I love you too, buddy."

Matthew was almost asleep again when he said, "I love Mommy too." He yawned. "Even if she won't let me eat hot dogs."


End file.
